We would like to invite you to contribute research informed blog posts relating to the forthcoming UK General Election, taking place on 4 July 2024.
The SEND system is in crisis. The Government has responded by putting in place the SEND & AP Improvement plan, currently being tested in nine different Change Programme Partnerships, one in each region. This Programme is designed to help build a strong evidence base, to inform future funding and legislation. These Partnerships will be testing Local Area Inclusion Plans, pilot changes to Education, Health and Care Plans including strengthening multi-agency panels, trialling new EHCP templates, strengthening mediation and trialing advisory tailored lists, as well as moving towards the digitisation of EHCPs. The Programme is being supported by the REACh consortium who have been asked to work together with lived experience groups and experts within the SEND and AP sector to ensure that children, young people and families’ voices are at the heart of the programme of change. However, the outcomes from this Change Programme are not only longer term ambitions, but they might not even come to fruition if there is a change in Government. Further, it is unlikely that there will be any meaningful evidence arising from the Change Programme prior to the UK General Election to help shape how each political party might deal with the crisis being faced by local authorities, schools and importantly children and young people with SEND and their families. And yet, each party will be needing to develop their own manifesto and hopefully SEND and education more broadly will be a core component of their platform.
This leads us to ask:
We have already provided our current thoughts via the National Policy Framework that we recently published.
This is an opportunity for you to contribute your ideas and recommendations as to how the SEND crisis should be addressed. We seek informative analyses, the latest research findings and evidence-based commentary that provide recommendations or raise questions about the future of education for pupils with SEND in the UK. If you would like to contribute to the blog series, please see our blog guidelines and information about submission. Submissions should not explicitly endorse one particular party or their platform/manifesto, rather we invite general critique and innovative evidence informed recommendations. Any critiques of existing policies should be research/evidence based. We look forward to hearing from you.
