“Complete overhaul” for SEN system

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The Government’s much heralded Green Paper on SEN will outline what a Department for Education (DfE) statement calls “a complete overhaul of the special educational needs (SEN) system over the next few years”.

The Green Paper is being led by Children’s Minister Sarah Teather. Its publication was originally planned for autumn 2010, but has now been put back until February 2011.

The Department has received nearly 2000 responses to its call for views for the Green Paper, of which around 40 per cent came from parents of children with disabilities and SEN. The DfE has released a synopsis of the “key areas of concern” from parents, teachers, local authorities, SENCOs and others who submitted evidence, which may provide valuable pointers to how the Government’s priorities will shape up when the Green Paper is finally released.

The chief concerns are that the SEN system is too bureaucratic and complex, and that education, health and social care services should work more closely together to identify and meet children’s needs. Better training for school staff is needed to help them recognise SEN and work with parents and children. Parents also pointed to a need for better information on services and the choice of schools available to them.

The Government has pledged to ensure that the Green Paper takes account of everyone’s concerns and it has promised to deliver “real changes to the SEN system”. The Green paper follows on from the Chancellor’s Comprehensive Spending Review and the White Paper on Education, which have already set in motion sweeping changes to the education system, and Ofsted’s recent damning review of current SEN provision.

The author of Ofsted’s report on SEN, Janet Thompson, provides an overview of her review’s main findings and recommendations in the current issue of SEN Magazine.

SEN News Team
Author: SEN News Team

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