And the minister responsible for overhauling England’s special educational needs provision is hoping that a state school in Colchester will help her beat the clock. Gould visited Thomas Lord Audley secondary school last week to see the secrets of its success in persuading local parents that it can help children with special needs thrive in a mainstream setting. Under the government’s proprosals announced in February, more funding and universal support are to be given to mainstream schools to accommodate children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).
The schools minister told the Guardian that institutions such as Thomas Lord Audley are doing many things that will become national policy under the new system. Gould said: “Part of the work we are trying to do, to transform the system towards inclusion, is to take the best practices from schools like this, and make sure that people can see the evidence and the impact they have on things like attendance … And then we want to spread that practice. But the government’s white paper will allow existing EHCPs to remain in place after 2030.
In doing so it may have created a surge of applications from families who fear missing out if they don’t get in before that deadline. That surge means the legacy of EHCPs will absorb funding desperately needed by the new system of support that does not require parents to jump through legal hoops. There are models that show this is possible, so we want that early support to be available to everyone.” Simon Essex, the executive head of Thomas Lord Audley, said the school had earned the trust of parents in Colchester so that it is now oversubscribed.
That’s why I’m hoping that the funding the government will bring will enable all schools to have the same mindset that we have for these young people.”
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