The proposals include:
• including parents in the assessment process and introduce a legal right, by 2014, to give them control of funding for the support their child needs
• replacing statements with a single assessment process and a combined education, health and care plan
• ensuring assessment and plans run from birth to 25 years old
• replacing the existing School Action and School Action Plus system with a simpler new school-based category to help teachers focus on raising attainment
• overhauling teacher training and professional development to better help pupils with special educational needs
• injecting greater independence from local authorities in assessments by looking at how voluntary groups might coordinate the package of support
• giving parents a greater choice of school and give parents and community groups the power to set up special free schools.
Proposals to help children with learning needs rather than SEN include:
• Extend the Achievement for All programme so personalised support is mainstream in all schools. This programme has seen an increase in
• results and a decrease in pupils on the SEN register.
• Facilitate the transition to the open market of Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Talker and Ever Child Counts programmes to help those children struggling with early communication, reading and mathematics.
• Introduce phonics-based training to support children who need additional help in reading.
• Work with SEN specialists as we develop the Reading Progress Check for six year olds to help identify children who require additional support.
• Introduce a new performance table indicator to give parents clear information on the progress of the lowest attaining pupils.
• Direct funding to the most deprived pupils through the Pupil Premium.
• The consultation lasts four months, and local testing will go on until September. There will be a further report and plan by the end of the year, with legislation due in May 2012 at the earliest.
