Caroline Voaden: Coastal communities must not be overlooked in SEND reforms

So, there we have it: after nearly a year of waiting, the government has finally unveiled its planned reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Last summer, I welcomed the Education Secretary announcing her intention to overhaul SEND provision in England. For years, successive Conservative governments had dodged this issue while children and families were failed and local authorities were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

But this initial excitement feels a very long time ago now. 

In the gap between then and last week, when the schools white paper came out, a vacuum opened, filled with speculation and gossip. This went into overdrive last week when the government began trailing the white paper, and parents are justifiably concerned about what the reforms could mean for children who require an EHCP under the current system.

Now the full white paper is out I can say that as with most announcements there are some positives and some negatives.

Overall, I welcome the government’s desire to address the crisis in how we are educating children with SEND – or not. This will be a long and complex process, and it must start somewhere but there are some gaps that concern me. 

Every school leader, teacher, and parent I talk to says early identification is vital, so children can be supported as soon as possible. With the right support, SEND needs might not be a barrier to school – and to children fulfilling their potential in life.

But I haven’t seen enough about early intervention to be confident this will happen, and nothing on a universal screening programme between the ages of six and seven which the Liberal Democrats have long called for. 

Similarly, while I applaud the ambition to educate most SEND children in mainstream schools, this frankly isn’t going to happen unless we see a radical shift in the number of teaching assistants being employed on a decent salary, not minimum wage. 

With large class sizes teachers simply cannot manage a range of SEND needs without support from other adults in the classroom – but there’s little mention of this – or the funding required – in the white paper. 

I am also concerned about the change in pupil premium funding. The government is proposing making family income data the trigger for pupil premium and other deprivation funding for schools, rather than free school meals eligibility.

But if pupil premium funding is based on household income, will young carers, looked after children, and adopted children still be eligible for it? And how will a school ascertain what household income is? As with much in the white paper, more clarity is needed.

One shining positive from the white paper is the government’s Mission Coastal proposal. This is a focused programme to improve outcomes in disadvantaged coastal communities which for too long have been ignored by successive governments. 

The government is still to decide which areas will benefit. When they decide, they must remember how well pockets of deprivation can be hidden in coastal areas.

I have visited schools in what are – on paper – affluent areas and met children who have never even been to the beach less than a couple of miles away. 

Likewise, there are schools in my constituency where one in three children are eligible for free school meals, not far from neighbourhoods where houses can cost the best part of £1 million.

At times, I have felt like a broken record saying this government does not understand the unique challenges coastal and rural communities face. This announcement suggests otherwise, so I look forward to learning which coastal communities will be included.

With so many children affected by the proposed changes, I doubt that the worries that have been building for the past year will be subsided. It is down to the government now to defend these plans and explain why they will result in improved outcomes for children, schools and local authorities.