Reflections on the Curriculum and Assessment Review by Dr Daniel Stavrou, Council for Disabled Children The Curriculum and Assessment Review Call for Evidence carried a promise to focus on the most significant areas for improvement, with particular concern for supporting children and young people who are from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, those with a […]
Isos report: ‘Towards an effective and financially sustainable approach to SEND in England’: Commentary by the SEN Policy Research Forum Lead Group by Peter Gray, Co-coordinator, SEN Policy Research Forum This commentary on the Isos report has been produced by the Lead Group of the SEN Policy Research Forum drawing on a range […]
What can the education reforms for children and young people with SEN/D learn from wider ideas about public service reform? by Professor Brahm Norwich This blog is a call for a wider perspective on the issues we discuss in the SENPRF, drawing on the recent ideas of Sam Freedman. His advisory work in […]
Can Relationships with Professionals in Mainstream Education Be Improved? Insights from Parent Carers of Children with Learning Disabilities Emma Foley, BA, MA, MBACP. Introduction As debates about the inadequacies of SEND provision and funding continue, especially in the wake of a general election, this blog focuses on an important aspect: the relationships […]
Fair funding for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability in England? School funding formulas have been applied across a number of countries for at least the last 50 years. A national funding formula (NFF) was introduced in England in 2018 with the aim to provide a platform for fair funding across the country. […]
Could a new government mark the end a decade of disruption and dysfunction in SEND? Rob Webster In England, SEND policy has tended to be written in the idiom of what the sociologist, Sally Tomlinson, calls ‘benevolent humanitarianism’. The words may be warm and well-meaning, but they mask, often unsuccessfully, understrength and incomplete […]
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 […]
As some of you may know, Brahm Norwich has decided to step down as co-coordinator of the Forum, which he originally set up over 30 years ago with Klaus Wedell. Brahm has been fundamental to the development of the Forum and has played a substantial part in organising our policy seminars, collating […]
By Peter Imray This short response paper concentrates specifically on children, young people and adults (CYPA) with complex learning disabilities (CLD), a fairly new ‘category’ of LD marking those who are on the severe end of severe learning disabilities. The ‘label’ itself does not carry any special significance, other than being an indication […]
What is the consequence of more children being sent to private special schools? Gary Thomas, University of Birmingham There have been large increases in the number of children sent to non-maintained special schools in recent years. To assess the extent of this trend and its probable consequences, I and my colleagues sent Freedom […]
The Children and Families Act 2014; are we expecting too much of it? Carol Long The Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) was hailed as landmark legislation aimed at improving services for vulnerable children and supporting families no matter what their background. Eight years on the effectiveness of the legislation continues to […]
UKRI-RSA Rethinking Public Dialogue pilot projects: Enhancing the participation of young people with SEN/D in public dialogue about inclusion in school education: a citizen jury pilot. This innovative pilot will focus on the inclusive engagement of young people (YP) with SEN/disabilities (SEND) in a Citizen Jury (CJ) process on the topic of a […]
