SEND delivery adviser<\/a> Kevan Collins told delegates the department was examining destinations data and working with Ofsted to apply \u201charder accountability\u201d for providers responsible for supporting learners into new education settings.<\/p>\nThe action forms part of the government\u2019s \u00a34 billion SEND overhaul, \u00a31.6 billion of which will be directed to schools, colleges and early years settings to improve inclusivity and transitions.<\/p>\n
Collins said the current transition system was \u201cnot good enough for anybody\u201d and that some of the behaviour from schools was \u201cshameful\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s unfair to say that in a way, young people with additional needs test our system. When it comes to the point of transition, too many of them test it and find it\u2019s not working,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Skills minister Jacqui Smith said the government was proposing \u201cstrengthened\u201d transition planning, whereby schools would be subject to stronger information sharing requirements and colleges would begin planning at least 12 months in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in colleges often tell me about the excellent provision that they have, but also how much better it could be for individual young people if they were clear about who was coming to the college or the post-16 provision, what their needs were, and therefore could plan at an earlier stage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Reforms will be rolled out from 2029, which entail a new layered system of support, a weaning off education, health and care plans and the introduction of individual support plans for young people with less complex needs.<\/p>\n
Smith added that the digitisation of individual support plans will help with passing on relevant information about learners\u2019 needs to new education settings.<\/p>\n
Spending on the proposals will begin during this spending review period so families \u201cfeel the improvements\u201d before legislative changes take effect.<\/p>\n
Rebalancing high needs budgets<\/h2>\n Multiple delegates pressed the minister on whether the current level of high needs funding is sufficient to support more learners with varying complex needs in post-16 settings.<\/p>\n
Smith responded the government was considering a change to the individual per place high needs funding mechanism so providers can make decisions on provision at an earlier stage.<\/p>\n
Colleges and other post-16 institutions will receive \u00a36,000 per place from high needs block funding for the 2026-27 academic year.<\/p>\n
Local authorities, which administer the funding, had a February deadline for colleges to notify them of changes to expected place numbers for the following academic year.<\/p>\n
Smith said DfE was considering \u201crebalancing\u201d funding for the existing high needs budget so providers decide how they want to tailor provision before learners are enrolled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI completely understand that people will be thinking, \u2018well, okay, but is this going to get lost in translation between the high needs budget and what\u2019s happening in colleges?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to work through really carefully, including with post-16 leaders, to make sure that people can see that money is coming and are able to use it on well-evidenced provision.\u201d<\/p>\n
No money tree for post-16 transport<\/h2>\n Following a question on what consideration DfE was giving to post-16 transport, Smith said it wasn\u2019t an entitlement that could be given to all SEND learners without pumping in huge amounts of money.<\/p>\n
She acknowledged the issue was around transport entitlements SEND learners have pre-16 that can be \u201cdelivered in a different way\u201d once they enter post-16 education.<\/p>\n
But she shirked responsibility for committing extra funding to transport provision for young people, adding that it remains a local authority duty to determine SEND transport.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a fair challenge. Look, if there was a load of money to be spent here, I think there are lots of authorities who would want to make the provision for post-16 more full than it is now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Smith added: \u201cIt isn\u2019t an area where, without spending an enormous amount more money, we could make it an entitlement for everybody. So we\u2019re going to need to keep thinking about how we can support young people to get to the appropriate provision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ministers have previously been accused of appearing \u201cunconcerned\u201d<\/a> about the impact on young people when they lose subsidised post-16 transport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ministers are eyeing tougher checks on schools\u2019 handovers to colleges<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":246318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[263,62],"post-theme":[2354],"class_list":["post-246317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-inclusion","tag-send","post-theme-inclusion"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t