There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to ensure they are supported throughout their education and into adult life.

As we have set out, the department intends to retain the SEND tribunal. Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents from having to fight for support, and protect provision currently in place.

As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to achieve and thrive including as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships to improving support for all children and young people with SEND.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced a strengthened area SEND inspection framework in January 2023, leading to a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. It is the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners.​

The department works to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners. Where a council does not meet its duties, we can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. We offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through programmes such as our Sector Led Improvement Partners, which provides peer-to-peer tailored support.

The department will continue to work closely with Ofsted and CQC as they review the local area SEND inspection framework in response to feedback from the Big Listen exercise.

As set out in the current Area SEND Inspection Framework, local areas with a Written Statement of Action that were not revisited by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission under the previous framework will have a full inspection within the first three years of the new inspection cycle, meaning that they should receive a full inspection under the current framework by the end of 2025.

As part of Area SEND inspections, inspectors assess the extent to which the local area partners are complying with relevant legal duties relating to arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

For any local area that has an active Written Statement of Action, the department works to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle any weaknesses that sit with health partners. Where a council does not meet its duties, including around timeliness of education, health and care plans, we offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through departmentally-managed programmes, such as our sector led improvement partners, which provides peer-to-peer tailored support. Councils identified as having issues with 20 week timeliness specifically are subject to additional monitoring by the department. Where we have concerns about their capacity to make the required improvements, we secure specialist SEND advisor support to help identify barriers and improve the service.

Accountability is non-negotiable for this Government, and we know that when standards slip, it is disadvantaged children who suffer. Through Ofsted reform, we are putting an end to high stakes, low information headline judgments, and in their place school report cards will provide clear detail on what schools are doing well, and where they must improve. High standards must be for every child in every school, so we are increasing the oversight of multi-academy trusts. Our focus remains on standards, not structures.

What steps she is taking to improve management accountability at multi-academy trusts.

I have a case in my constituency where a governor feels that she was pushed out, having raised concerns about senior teaching staff. I understand from last year’s Sky News report that that may not necessarily be an isolated incident, as the accountability process potentially involves trustees marking their own homework. I am a strong supporter of academies, but there must be a balance. Will the Minister commit to bringing in a system of accountability and transparency to prevent such things from happening?

In my constituency of Camborne and Redruth, a small number of multi-academy trusts are contributing to a high level of suspensions and exclusions. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that as a matter of urgency?

One of the key metrics for holding schools and trusts to account is pupil numbers; parents vote with their feet. Why is the Secretary of State stopping good schools from being able to expand in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill? That will stop competition and accountability, erode parental choice, and drive down standards.

Consultation documents set out, within the first few pages, alternative ways that respondents can obtain copies in alternative formats, and how to respond through methods other than the online system.

The department can be contacted by post or email to request an alternative format of the form. For people who do not have easy access to digital devices, these consultations run for 12 weeks to give sufficient opportunity to respond if digital access is not readily available.

The government takes a digital-by-default approach to communication and participation but aims to mitigate risks faced by those considered to be digitally excluded.

The department is committed to improving our approach to accountability for all schools. We are working with Ofsted to ensure that schools are inspected against clear, rigorous expectations for the inclusivity of special educational needs and disabilities provision.

The consultation on improving the way Ofsted inspects education runs until 28 April 2025 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-way-ofsted-inspects-education.

The department’s new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention to schools that Ofsted identifies as needing to improve, and a universal service for all schools, which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

RISE teams will now begin engaging with the first schools eligible for the targeted, bespoke service, with more schools to begin in April.

The department’s first 20 RISE advisers are now in post. They will work alongside the department to help support schools break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. A full list of these advisers has been published on GOV.UK.

Expert RISE advisers will work with the department’s Regions Group. Some Regions Group staff will work full-time delivering RISE work, others will deliver some RISE work alongside other roles. Workforce allocations for the 2025/26 fiscal and academic years have not yet been set.

In addition to the RISE advisers in post, the department launched a recruitment campaign for a full cohort of advisers to start in the spring and summer term. We will be informing candidates of the outcome of this campaign shortly.

The department’s new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention to schools that Ofsted identifies as needing to improve, and a universal service for all schools, which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

RISE teams will now begin engaging with the first schools eligible for the targeted, bespoke service, with more schools to begin in April.

The department’s first 20 RISE advisers are now in post. They will work alongside the department to help support schools break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. A full list of these advisers has been published on GOV.UK.

Expert RISE advisers will work with the department’s Regions Group. Some Regions Group staff will work full-time delivering RISE work, others will deliver some RISE work alongside other roles. Workforce allocations for the 2025/26 fiscal and academic years have not yet been set.

In addition to the RISE advisers in post, the department launched a recruitment campaign for a full cohort of advisers to start in the spring and summer term. We will be informing candidates of the outcome of this campaign shortly.

Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellent (RISE) team advisers have an exceptional track record of school improvement and executive leadership. This includes individuals who are, or have recently been, headteachers, senior local authority officers or trust leaders. They have a much broader role in acting as the catalyst for driving a self-improving system, and designing bespoke, targeted interventions to under-performing schools, compared to National Leaders of Education (NLEs). Unlike NLEs, RISE advisors will not directly deliver these interventions but will draw on a range of high-quality organisations from curriculum hubs to high-performing trusts, to do so in line with evidence on driving improvements in school standards and outcomes.

The department’s targeted, mandatory RISE intervention is backed initially by over £20 million of funding for school improvement, far more than was available under the optional Trust and School Improvement (TSI) offer of a basic £6,000 worth of support per school compared to RISE’s of up to £100,000. In addition, the previous government had not planned to continue the TSI offer for schools which were newly eligible from September 2024, a decision this government has reversed.

Multi-academy trusts are partners in this government’s vision to drive high standards across all parts of the education system. The government is committed to bringing forward legislation to enable the inspection of multi-academy trusts supporting this government’s ambition that every part of the education system which can drive improvement is doing so.

It is important that multi-academy trusts work effectively with local authorities in the areas where their schools are located.

All school staff should feel safe and supported at work, and confident in being able to report concerns. We expect school leaders, as employers, to take appropriate action to tackle any issues that are raised.

All school employers, including trusts, have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The primary duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of all employees, including school leaders, rests with the employer. The employer is therefore responsible for doing what is reasonably practicable to ensure that employees are adequately supported in relation to wellbeing and should take appropriate action where they are aware of any matters that impact their employee’s welfare. It is the responsibility of individual trusts to have robust staffing policies in place to ensure this is the case.

This includes having complaints guidance and whistleblowing policies and procedures in place. Guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures and here: https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is the prescribed person for matters relating to education for whistleblowers who do not want to raise matters directly with their employer. Concerns can be raised with the department using the Customer Help Portal available here: https://customerhelpportal.education.gov.uk.

More widely, as Principal Regulator for academies, the Secretary of State is clear that accountability is non-negotiable. The department holds academies to high standards, setting and enforcing all non-financial standards, and facilitating, supporting and overseeing intervention in multi-academy trusts when it is needed.

Academy trusts are also bound by their funding agreements to conduct their academies within the terms and requirements of their Articles of Association, the Academies Trust Handbook and any legislation or legal requirement that applies to academies. Where concerns about an academy are identified or raised, the department works closely with trusts to ensure statutory requirements are being met.

The government is clear that strong accountability is non-negotiable. That is why it has committed to bring multi-academy trusts into the inspection system, to ensure every part of our school system is driving forward the best outcomes for children.

The primary responsibility for the financial oversight of academy trusts rests with the trustees themselves, supported by the financial management and governance requirements and framework set by the department in academy trusts’ Funding Agreements, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-and-free-school-funding-agreements.

Further guidance is provided by the academy trust handbook accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2024-to-print, and the Academies Accounts Direction, found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academies-accounts-direction.

This framework states that all academy trusts must have an annual external audit of their annual accounts by a registered statutory auditor. This external scrutiny provides the department with a high level of confidence that oversight is professional and consistent, as the external auditors must comply with auditing standards set by an independent regulator.

Auditors must also give an opinion on whether the accounts are true and fair and provide an opinion to the department on regularity and compliance by the trust, reporting any transactions they have identified which have breached our requirements. Additionally, auditors prepare management letters, describing any weaknesses in the trust and recommendations for improvement. The department require trusts to respond to audit findings in an appropriate and timely manner.

The framework also outlines that all academy trusts must:

• Implement robust financial procedures including internal checks of the suitability of, and compliance with, their financial systems.
• Have an audit committee to manage their risks and oversee the checks of systems of control. This committee must ensure an appropriate approach to scrutiny, such as the appointment of internal auditors, report on this work in their annual accounts and take ownership of balancing their budget and send a copy to the department in advance of each year.
• Publish their annual audited accounts and details of their objectives, achievements and future plans and set out what they have done to promote value for money in support of those objectives as part of their annual report and accounts.

Where concerns are identified, the department will intervene in a way that is proportionate to the risk and preserves education provision. This can include issuing a trust with a Notice to Improve (NtI) or, in the most serious cases, termination of the Funding Agreement. Where academy trusts are experiencing significant financial difficulty, the department is clear that its starting approach will always be to have a supportive conversation to explore the challenges trusts are facing and suggest the practical ways it may be able to support.

The department will consider the financial, educational and governance aspects of the trust and work through budget returns with trusts, including discussing revisions to the forecasts as necessary based on recent pressures.

Academy trusts are delivering a high standard of financial management and governance. The latest published data shows that 98.2% of trusts had a cumulative surplus or a zero balance, 99.8% of academy trust accounts received unqualified opinions. In addition, independent auditors concluded that there were no regularity exceptions in trust accounts for over 92% of trusts, and less than 1% of academy trusts are subject to an active NtI.

Academies are required to have a complaints procedure in place that adheres to Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. Where parents or carers have concerns, they should first approach the academy, and it is their responsibility to handle and resolve complaints. If a complainant has concerns that an academy did not handle a complaint in line with the regulations, they can then escalate to the department, whose role it is to consider whether the academy followed the correct process.

For members of the wider community who do not have a child at the academy, the regulations do not apply. However, the department still expects academies to handle complaints swiftly and respectfully.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education holds academies to a high level of accountability through their funding agreement. Where wider concerns are raised, for example, as a result of poor governance or lack of compliance with the framework, the department will intervene proportionately to ensure compliance.

As part of the King’s Speech, we have committed to legislate to require all schools, including academies, to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions and place planning, and to give local authorities greater powers to deliver their function and ensure that admissions decisions account for the needs of the community.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission commenced a strengthened local inspection framework in January 2023, which places a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. It is the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, across all partners.

Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. The department works to monitor, support and, where necessary, challenge local authorities, working closely with NHS England to tackle any weaknesses that sit with health partners.

The department welcomes the publication of the Big Listen response. We will continue to work with Ofsted to consider how outcomes for children with SEND or in alternative provision (AP) are better reflected in the Education Inspection and the Area SEND inspection frameworks going forwards.

There are several routes of redress for parents or young people who disagree with decisions or actions of their educational setting or local authority. However, the department does understand these processes can be lengthy and difficult for families to navigate. It is in everyone’s interests that routes of redress are set out clearly and that complaints are resolved at the earliest possible stage.

The work of the Change Programme partnerships has provided valuable insights and learning across the SEND and AP system. This includes informing the department's thinking about effective inclusive mainstream practice, which is an area where more needs to be done to ensure children with SEND receive the support they need and deserve. We will share more news on the future direction of the Change Programme in due course.

This government has committed to remove barriers to opportunity and raise school standards to ensure the school system is enabling every child to thrive, no matter their background.

The government is clear strong accountability is non-negotiable. That is why the government has committed to bring Multi-Academy Trusts into the inspection system, to make the system fairer and more transparent, and enable intervention when schools and trusts are not performing to the required standards.