{"id":244960,"date":"2026-04-16T22:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=244960"},"modified":"2026-04-16T22:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:39:52","slug":"send-reforms-are-stronger-because-we-engaged-with-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/send-reforms-are-stronger-because-we-engaged-with-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"‘SEND reforms are stronger because we engaged with communities’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The critical task of stewarding SEND reform has passed through the hands of an eyewatering nine ministers since a review first launched in 2019 under the Conservatives.<\/p>\n

Georgia Gould is the latest in the line-up. She became schools minister in September and has since tried to make it clear to fearful families that \u201csomeone is listening\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her repeated use of the phrase hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed, with some publicly and privately praising her approach.<\/p>\n

The SEND white paper was delayed again last year so she could hold national and regional \u201clistening\u201d events.<\/p>\n

This was welcomed for the most part, but left some sceptical about whether the government was actually taking on board feedback, or whether it was simply a tick-box exercise to try to reassure the sector.<\/p>\n

But Gould, the MP for Queen\u2019s Park and Maida Vale since 2024, said she learned the true meaning of listening shortly after she was elected leader of Camden Council.<\/p>\n

Camden tower blocks evacuated<\/h3>\n

In 2017, she ordered<\/a> the evacuation of the north London borough\u2019s Chalcots tower blocks after it was discovered they had similar cladding to Grenfell Tower, which claimed the lives of 72 people after fire broke out on June 14, 2017.<\/p>\n

The issues raised by fire services were the same as families had been desperately trying to get taken seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had not been listening deeply enough to those families and it is so critical that we hear people, because if you don\u2019t then you put lives at risk,\u201d Gould said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt led me on a journey with Camden to really try and turn the council inside out, so it was truly listening to communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of this involved bringing families in the council\u2019s \u2018outstanding\u2019-rated social care system into a \u201cgroup conference\u201d to develop solutions for their children.<\/p>\n

These families created a motto: \u201cto love is to act\u201d. A colourful canvas next to her ministerial desk reminds her of it.<\/p>\n

Tribunal plans U-turn<\/h3>\n

Gould revealed her SEND conversations did lead to several \u201csubstantial\u201d pre-publication U-turns and additions.<\/p>\n

Under draft plans, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman would have looked at education, health and care plan (EHCP) needs assessment appeals, rather than the tribunal.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gould with prime minister Keir Starmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The government believed it would have been quicker, but parents and disabled children\u2019s organisations felt \u201creally strongly\u201d the tribunal should be the backstop, Gould said.<\/p>\n

The organisations\u2019 feedback also led to the \u201cfast track\u201d for EHCPs for children under 5 who had been identified as having \u201ccomplex needs\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had teachers in the room, SENCOs, parents, local authorities, health workers and actually sometimes they do have different perspectives, but it\u2019s really important that everyone gets the chance to negotiate those differences and to hear from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

She believes the reforms are \u201cso much stronger because of the work we\u2019ve done to really engage properly with communities\u201d.<\/p>\n

Test, learn and grow<\/h3>\n

But there are growing concerns about how the transition to a new system will work.<\/p>\n

For instance, there is a huge workforce challenge for the new government-funded, council-run experts at hand scheme, which aims to make it easier for schools to access specialist services.<\/p>\n

Some are concerned about children falling through the gaps.<\/p>\n

Gould is keen to replicate the \u201ctest, learn and grow\u201d scheme that she introduced at the Cabinet Office in the SEND reforms.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Artwork in Gould’s office<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a move away from a \u201ctop down\u201d view of policy, instead working with frontline staff on challenges. It\u2019s in development, but one issue they may use the programme on is exploring barriers to successful transition into adulthood.<\/p>\n

The scheme was \u201creally getting into the heart of communities and making policies together\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very much the approach I\u2019ve tried to bring to government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the other end of it as council leader, with headteachers being like \u2018that part of government has not talked to that part of government, why is this come down like this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

SEND fragmentation<\/h3>\n

This fragmentation is something Gould is having to confront. The education committee warned last year the health sector played a \u201cmore passive role\u201d in SEND, with schools and councils \u201cshouldering most of the responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday night, several MPs pressed Gould in the Commons for answers on this.<\/p>\n

Labour MP Jen Craft called on the health secretary Wes Streeting to publish a statement on how he will deliver the SEND workforce. \u201cOtherwise, I am sorry to say that this plan will struggle to get off the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gould maintained they were joint reforms with health, and the experts at hand service would help address any issues.<\/p>\n

But she acknowledged parents\u2019 frustration of having to \u201cfight\u201d and navigate different services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe full reforms have to address that. Health is critical, this is in partnership. Together, we\u2019ve been working really closely with health colleagues to address \u2026 the key health workforce we think we need.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really clear that where there are failures, we will have a strong Ofsted [inspection] that includes the Care Quality Commission, but we will also intervene as government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gould agreed there were areas \u201cwe need to go further\u201d. She has convened a new \u201ccomplex needs group\u201d with Zubir Ahmed, the health minister responsible for SEND, to look at how health works with education and social care.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One of its objectives is to look at how funding decisions are made locally for each service.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes delays in negotiations between different agencies mean children have to wait for support, that might be an area we look at with test, learn and grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are better ways to make that decision?\u201d<\/p>\n

The reforms place great emphasis on partnership working in local areas. Whether it can be a successful reality nationwide remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

But Gould said from her experience at Camden it was \u201ctransformative\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really think that collaboration matters, but place also matters. We want a system where teachers are supported by those wider services, but schools are really rooted in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inclusion bases<\/h3>\n

One of the key policies is new inclusion bases, expected in every secondary school. But leaders are still waiting for government guidance on how to best run these.<\/p>\n

ASCL\u2019s Margaret Mulholland told the education committee this week that schools shouldn\u2019t \u201crush in\u201d to set these up, while the National Education Union\u2019s Daniel Kebede said staffing remained a fundamental challenge.<\/p>\n

He also warned there was a risk that they became \u201ca dumping ground rather than a genuine specialist resource\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pressed on these concerns, Gould reflected on the \u201cextraordinary\u201d practice she has seen.<\/p>\n

But she has also visited schools \u201cthat are really struggling, where they\u2019ve got a space, they\u2019ve really openly said to me, we don\u2019t have the expertise, we don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a base I visited the other day, the head of a school said something which I think is really important \u2013 that inclusion has to start in the mainstream school.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause if you have a base and there isn\u2019t a real focus on inclusive practice, and if all teachers and support staff aren\u2019t involved in that inclusive journey, it won\u2019t work because those children will be isolated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s really important this guidance is coming out and will provide that clarity on what good looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schools Week<\/em> recently revealed how<\/a> councils will be given top marks by government if their SEND reform proposals included \u201clittle to no plans\u201d to increase special school capacity.<\/p>\n

This has prompted a feeling among some specialist leaders that their work has been sidelined.<\/p>\n

Gould insisted they would be \u201ccritically important\u201d, adding: \u201cThere needs to be special schools in the system, but also that they are part of a wider family of schools in local areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Super aware of unfairness\u2019<\/h3>\n

As the daughter of the late Labour peer and strategist Philip Gould, Gould\u2019s privileged childhood \u2013 including family holidays with Labour strategist Alastair Campbell and the Blairs \u2013 is well documented.<\/p>\n

She appeared as a baby on the cover of the 1987 election edition of Private Eye, held by Labour leader Neil Kinnock.<\/p>\n

She attended the famous state Camden School for Girls in north London, founded by suffragist Frances Mary Buss and known for its top outcomes. As a proud feminist, her DfE office is full of illustrations and pictures of women.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gould, as a baby, on the front of Private Eye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her upbringing, she said, made her \u201creally super aware\u201d of the unfairness in her community and country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had friends who were so talented, had so much they wanted to do \u2013 and they were held back by the level of disadvantage, the barriers that they faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome had barriers that I didn\u2019t have, like trying to get an unpaid internship and only able to stay in school because of the educational maintenance allowance. There were huge barriers, and that\u2019s what got me into local politics and still has a massive impact for me today.\u201d<\/p>\n

She cites an example of studying history and politics at the University of Oxford, looking around and realising there were so many people from her class at school who should have been there, but weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had everything to give, and they\u2019re not here because they haven\u2019t had those right opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defining legacy<\/h3>\n

While it is likely the SEND reform success will be her defining legacy as schools minister, what does she want to be remembered for?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the way the previous government framed education was too narrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to ensure that we set young people up for a changing world, that we give them a broad education.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporting them to achieve academically is critically important, but we also want them to have the oracy skills, the creativity the resilience, the wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a council leader, Gould helped set up Camden Learning, an area-based education partnership.<\/p>\n

These involve schools teaming up, then working with the council on school improvement, professional development and curriculum programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cCamden was a borough that chose to stay actively involved in education,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had an ethos about education that schools should be rooted in communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought so hard to keep the arts, creativity, music \u2013 often feeling like that was against the tide \u2013 but also performing well on academic achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that inclusion, wellbeing and academic achievement are two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n

\u201cA joy got taken out of learning under the last government, and we really want to make school unmissable and a place that people want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia Gould on how Grenfell taught her the importance of listening and her mission to make school 'unmissable'<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311127,"featured_media":244975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3728,263],"post-theme":[2354],"class_list":["post-244960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","tag-georgia-gould","tag-inclusion","post-theme-inclusion"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t