Written questions by Sultana.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities fulfil their statutory duties in respect of Education, Health and Care Plans for children with special educational needs.

The department and NHS England work together to support and challenge local areas to improve their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service delivery where required. This includes monitoring, supporting and challenging any areas of identified weakness, both following an area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, or if those areas are identified outside of inspection timescales.Where a local authority does not meet its duties, including in relation to securing provision in accordance with education, health and care plans, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. This includes a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through departmental programmes, such as our expert advisers and commissioners.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of mental health and wellbeing support for children with special educational needs in primary education.

Schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.The department is aware of the challenges in the SEND system, and we understand how urgently we need to address these. But these are complex issues which need a considered approach to deliver sustainable change.This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We want to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. The department is also working closely with experts on reforms, who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families, as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.This government will expand mental health support teams so that every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also be putting in place new Young Futures Hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.The department has already provided a resource hub for mental health leads, which signposts practical resources and tools to embed effective whole-school approaches. To further help schools identify and embed the most effective targeted support options for their setting, we have also launched a targeted mental wellbeing toolkit. This practical guide and tool covers a range of evidence-based interventions.On top of this, schools are also able to arrange their own mental health interventions that are best suited to their pupils using the core revenue funding they receive from the department.Schools are also able to spend pupil premium funding on providing mental health support. Schools must use pupil premium in line with the department’s ‘menu of approaches’. The list of approaches was published in the 2024 policy document ‘Using pupil premium, guidance for school leaders’, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65cf69384239310011b7b91f/Using_Pupil_Premium_-_Guidance_for_School_Leaders.pdf.The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed an additional £2.3 billion for the core schools budget for the 2025/26 financial year compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core schools funding will reach over £63.9 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.

What steps her Department is taking to improve accountability mechanisms for schools that do not provide adequate support for children with special educational needs.

The department is committed to improving our approach to accountability for all schools. We are working with Ofsted to ensure that schools are inspected against clear, rigorous expectations for the inclusivity of special educational needs and disabilities provision.The consultation on improving the way Ofsted inspects education runs until 28 April 2025 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-education.