The SEND Green Paper was commissioned in November 2019 and stemmed from the SEND review, which examined why the legislation in the Children and Families Act in the 2014 hasn’t worked as it was intended it to.
There was not enough funding in the system to deliver what was set out and as a result too many children and young people are not receiving the support they should.
Problems with the SEND Green paper
Rather than prioritising the unmet needs of thousands of children and young people, the Green Paper is trying to reduce cost and the number of tribunals by making it even harder to for families and carers to access support.
The priorities in the Green Paper are completely wrong and there seems to be a real disconnect between the proposal in the paper versus the realities of a hugely challenging and complex system that families and carers face trying to access support and provision for their child.
Why we recorded a round table
We need as many people as possible to be aware of the proposed changes and respond. We held a round table to discuss the issues, and we hope you will find it useful when formulating your own responses.
We’ve divided the recording up by topic: introduction to the green paper, national standards, the ‘list of schools’, mandatory mediation, accountability and how to respond.
Taking part were
- Adam Friel – Partner and Head of Education Geldards Law
- Salise Dourmash – Senior Asscociate, Geldards Law
- Dr Carrie Grant, MBE, Broadcaster, Vocal and Leadership Coach and Campaigner
- Ali Durban, Co-Founder Gesher School
- Charlotte Hadfield, Barrister, Head of Education, 3PB
Introduction
Who we are and why the green paper has come out.
National Standards
The proposal to create a standard that everyone needs to fit into to access support and provision.
List of Schools
The government wants to try have list of select schools that parents will be forced to choose from for their child.
Mandatory Mediation
The proposal for a legal requirement to go through mediation when trying to secure an EHCP.
Accountability
Local authorities often behave unlawfully – who will hold them to account in these new proposals?
How to respond
The language in the questionnaire is intimidating and inaccessible – our thoughts on how best to respond.
