SEND and alternative provision roadmap
Published 2 March 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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This roadmap summarises the actions we’ll take to improve the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system in England that are set out in the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan.
A national system underpinned by national standards
Explains the actions we’ll take to create a national system underpinned by national standards.
| This year (2023) | By the end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Set up engagement across education, health and care during spring 2023 to develop national standards. | Invest £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to fund new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. |
| Establish the change programme’s regional expert partnerships to test out proposals. | Publish a significant proportion of the national standards. |
| Start testing elements of the national standards with regional expert partnerships. | Work with partners to develop reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent education, health and care plan process which makes greater use of digital technology. |
| Introduce local SEND and alternative provision partnerships that bring together partners to plan and commission support for children and young people with SEND and in alternative provision. | Set out initial plans for our approach to updating the SEND Code of Practice. |
| Work with areas, through the change programme, to create evidence-based local inclusion plans. | Develop innovative approaches for short breaks through £30 million of funding. |
| Start testing an approach to improve information available to families by providing them with a tailored list of suitable settings. This will be co-produced with children, young people and their families. | Receive a final report from the Law Commission following their review of the social care legislation relating to disabled children. |
| Announce the successful schools which will be opened as part of the new special and alternative provision free schools. | Create a 3-tier alternative provision system. |
Successful transitions and preparation for adulthood
Explains the actions we’ll take to create a system that makes sure children and young people with SEND have successful transitions and are prepared for adulthood.
| This year (2023) | By the end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Launch a pilot to consider the evidence required to access flexibilities to standard English and mathematics requirements for apprenticeships. | Publish guidance to support effective transitions between all stages of education, and into employment and adult services. |
| Support the Department for Work and Pensions’ Adjustment Passport pilot. | Invest £18 million to double the capacity of the supported internships programme. |
| Start to build capacity and strengthen the quality of the supported internship programme. This includes training job coaches and making sure all local authorities have access to a supported employment forum. | Improve the Disabled Students’ Allowance process. |
A skilled workforce and excellent leadership
Explains the actions we’ll take to support a skilled workforce with excellent leadership.
| This year (2023) | By the end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Undertake a review of the initial teacher training and early career frameworks. | Take a joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care approach to SEND workforce planning. |
| Fund up to 5,000 early years staff to gain an accredited level 3 early years special educational needs co-ordinator qualification. | Launch a new leadership level special educational needs co-ordinator national professional qualification. |
| Launch a research project to develop our evidence base on current school approaches for teaching assistants. | Begin to invest a further £21 million to train 2 more cohorts of educational psychologists in 2024 and 2025. |
| Improve access to speech and language therapists through ELSEC pathfinders. | |
| Embed specialists like therapists and youth workers into 22 alternative provision schools through funding the AP specialist taskforces pilot programme until the end of March 2025. | |
| Publish the first 3 practice guides for frontline professionals. |
Strengthened accountabilities and clear routes of redress
Explains the actions we’ll take to strengthen accountabilities and make sure there are clear routes of redress.
| This year (2023) | By the end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Publish local and national inclusion dashboards. | Facilitate a more joined up response between Department for Education and NHS England. |
| Deliver updated Ofsted and Care Quality Commission area SEND inspections. | Put robust processes in place to take action where there are breaches of statutory duties. |
| Give the Secretary of State for Health greater powers through the Health and Care Act 2022. | Create a ladder of intervention for local areas. |
| Require every integrated care board to have a named executive board member lead accountable for SEND. | Improve the quality of mediation services. |
| Set up an expert group to support the development of a bespoke national alternative provision performance framework. | Develop a bespoke national alternative provision performance framework. |
| Improve advice and guidance for families on mediation and update the professional standards for SEND mediators. | Develop options for ensuring transparent and effective movement of pupils without education, health and care plans. |
A financially sustainable system delivering improved outcomes
Explains the actions we’ll take to create a fair and financially sustainable system that provides improved outcomes.
| This year (2023) | By the end of 2025 |
|---|---|
| Increase core school funding by £3.5 billion in 2023 to 2024. Almost £1 billion of that increase will go towards high needs. | Make significant progress towards the development and implementation of a system of funding bands and tariffs to back the national standards. |
| Support local authorities through the delivering better value and safety valve programmes. | |
| Publish a response to the consultation on the schools national funding formula. | |
| Make significant progress in developing new approaches to funding alternative provision. | |
| Re-examine the state’s relationship with independent special schools. |