The NNPCF understands that there have been, and are likely to continue to be, unsettling media leaks about the upcoming Schools White Paper.
The DfE has a clear policy that it will not comment on leaks, which is why there is no response from the DfE that we can share with you.
While we are not able to comment on speculation or leaks, the NNPCF would like to reassure you that we remain closely involved in ongoing discussions. As part of the SEND Development Group, we continue to meet weekly with Minister Gould. Feedback from national conversations, along with the sessions we hosted with Parent Carer Forums (PCFs) over a number of months with the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, Minister Gould, and Early Years Minister Olivia Bailey, is all being actively fed into current policy discussions.
At the NNPCF, we are lobbying strongly on your behalf for a fair, transparent, and accountable system that genuinely benefits and improves outcomes for children and young people with SEND. At the same time, we continue to provide robust strategic challenge on behalf of those children who are being failed by the system right now, and those for whom reform may come too late.
Today (Wednesday), we also met with Minister MacAlister, who joined the SEND Development Working Group for a session following a request from the NNPCF. During this discussion with Minister MacAlister, the Minister for Children and Families who oversees social care, we explored the essential role social care must play within a more inclusive system. The NNPCF highlighted the significant challenges parents and carers of children and young people with SEND face in accessing the right support at the right time, and raised ongoing concerns about parents and carers being unfairly drawn into “safeguarding” processes.
Minister Gould is keen to ensure that there is joint working across departments and at previous SEND Development Group we have also been joined by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation and Safety, Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, where we discussed the implications of waiting times for conditions such as autism and ADHD, the lack of joined-up working across health, and the impact that ICB restructuring is having on engagement with SEND at a local level.
The NNPCF looks forward to welcoming Minister Gould to our conference next week and will continue to keep you updated as soon as we are able to share information.
