MP requires Ofsted to make SEND schooling a precedence
Released:
11:00 AM November 10, 2021
Ipswich MP Tom Hunt will meet with Ofsted chiefs after calling for the teaching of students with special educational needs to be a priority at school inspections.
Mr Hunt has also written to Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi and Education Committee Chair Robert Halfon to raise the issue and will discuss it in the committee.
The letters underline that, in his opinion, the education system is still directed against children who need more support.
Mr. Hunt, who suffers from dyslexia and dyspraxia himself, said: “We need a system that rewards and promotes the good delivery of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) in schools.”
His latest comments come after last month calling for a “substantial” increase in spending in support of SEND students in Suffolk.
As a member of the Education Special Committee, Mr. Hunt recently asked Mr. Zahawi whether the inspection system was “too results-oriented” – and whether it was fair to schools with high numbers of students with special educational needs.
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The MP said: “I was pleased that the State Secretary for Education agreed with me that all mainstream schools should be SEN schools.”
Mr Hunt welcomed the budget announcement to provide £ 2.6 billion in new school places for SEND children over the next three years.
However, he said the government needs to consider a more holistic approach to address the needs of these children.
In his letter to Mr. Zahawi, he said, “The provision of special educational needs in schools should be a more fundamental part of the Ofsted assessment,” adding, “This would advance educational levels.”
Education providers have also raised concerns. Dhruv Patel, CEO of Nisai Virtual Academy, which has students nationwide, including Suffolk, said, “The government needs to have a real understanding of how a child with special educational needs progresses in their academic career and what makes them successful.
“Only 15% of adults with autism work full time. This is not because they are unable to work. This is because schools do not get credit for skill development outside of a narrow academic criterion from Ofsted, which means that many children with SEN remain marginalized, that needs to be corrected. “
