More funding will be given to mainstream schools to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) as part of a £4bn package to make the system more inclusive, the government has announced.
Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major overhaul to be announced by the Department for Education (DfE) on Monday.
Some £1.6bn over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.
Another £1.8bn over the same period will go towards creating an “experts at hand” service, made up of specialists such as Send teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.
Schools will be able to draw from this bank on demand regardless of whether pupils have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to – the Department for Education (DfE) said.
Unions broadly welcomed the commitment to reform but warned they would be scrutinising the detail when the Schools White Paper is released to see whether the changes are enough.
A further £200m will be invested in Send outreach teams for communities, and another £200m for local authorities to “transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services”, the DfE said.
Sir Keir Starmer claimed that “tailored support” for families would bring an an end to the “one size fits all system”.
“I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need,” he said.
“But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given.”
Meanwhile, the education secretary said the government was “fiercely ambitious for children and young people with Send”, who deserve a system that “lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on to achieve”.
She said: “These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this Government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child.”
But public service union Unison said the money “has to go where it’s needed” and “exactly how that will happen under these new plans is not clear”.
Head of education at the union Mike Short said: “The broad themes in the White Paper are encouraging and cutting the disadvantage gap is key if every child is to achieve and thrive.
“Any reforms must ensure there’s enough funding to support all children and pay staff properly for the work they do.”
He added: “Ministers and schools must properly recognise and reward the vital role support staff play in delivering for children with Send.”
It comes amid concerns that Send children will have plans setting out their right to support reviewed as part of the reforms.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said she has some “big concerns” about “what is being floated” in proposals to reform special education provision in schools, amid reports that children with a legal right to special needs support will face a review when they move to secondary school.
Ms Trott told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “For too many parents … they’ve had to fight for the support and the idea that they’re going to be reassessed will be genuinely frightening, and I do worry about that.”
Ms Trott said it has been “way too hard” for many parents to get support, adding: “Once that support is in place, for many young people that has actually been very effective.
“So, it’s important that that is not taken away. The stress that this system has meant for so many parents up and down the country, they’ve been worried for about a year now, because there was a leak that EHCPs (education, health and care plans) were going to be taken away.
“Now we’ve got the education secretary on here saying that they might be reviewed. I mean, it’s just too much for parents. They need to just take away this anxiety and we would absolutely oppose any support being withdrawn.”
The National Association of Headteachers welcomed the “principle” of more support for pupils in mainstream schools and said “along with this significant investment, we will be scrutinising the details closely and speaking to school leaders to weigh up whether it is sufficient”.
“There will always be some pupils whose needs are so great that they require support in a special school, and it’s crucial the government’s plans ensure all children get the support they need at the right time in the right setting,” Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the union, said.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: “The move to make mainstream schools more inclusive is welcome news.
“Families must have their children’s needs identified early and for them to be given the right help straight away, backed by services fully funded to do the job, and rights underpinned by law.”
The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said “no plan will be perfect” but that reforms to the system should not become the next “political flashpoint” in Westminster.
“The costs of delay are already being felt,” associate director Avnee Morjaria said.
“This must now be a moment for everyone to get behind a serious programme of reform.”
The White Paper, set to be published in full on Monday, will also set a target to halve the disadvantage gap by the time children born under this government finish secondary school, as part of a plan to improve the education system in England.
