UK SEN Reforms - comments from Contact a Family and NDCS

 

Srabani Sen, Chief Executive of Contact a Family, says: 

"We welcome many aspects of the Education Select Committee report. In particular the committee's recommendation that entitlement to integrated support and Education Health and Care Plans should be extended to disabled children, with or without SEN, is key to making the reforms work for all families with disabled children. 

"We share the committee's concerns that there should be a stronger obligation on health agencies to offer support to disabled children and their families. We were disappointed that they stopped short of recommending that health agencies should have the same legal requirements to support disabled children as in education. 

"Contact a Family knows that ensuring parents are at the heart of the reforms is another crucial aspect to making them work and welcome the committee's recommendation to involve parents in the design of local offers." 

"Contact a Family is also pleased that the committee has recommended that there be no compulsory mediation. This is a key concern for Contact a Family as we think compulsory mediation could place vulnerable families at a disadvantage. It's important that families already facing challenges aren't put under greater pressure when they are only trying to secure the right outcome for their child."

 And from NDCS -

Following a report by an influential parliamentary committee, NDCS is calling on the Department for Education in England to pause to ensure that proposed new laws will genuinely benefit deaf children and to take action to protect the very services needed to deliver these reforms.