On 8 April, Children's Minister Edward Timpson MP and Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter MP wrote to chief executives of local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups, chairs of Health and Wellbeing Boards and lead members.
Letter from Edward Timpson and Dan Poulter
The letter asks them to give personal attention to ensuring that the new SEN and Disabilities system is implemented in a way that will deliver maximum benefits for children and young people. An updated implementation pack (below) accompanies the letter, which outlines the vision for the reforms and contains useful information for strategic leaders.
Edward Timpson is also writing to schools, parents and FE colleges about the reforms. The LGA is in discussion with DfE about funding for new burdens for the new duties on local authorities under the Children and Families Act 2014.
The DfE is also undertaking a further and final stage in the process of consultation on the new SEN code of practice. The LGA, along with ADCS, ADAS and a number of other organisations, has been invited to comment on two issues – the extent to which the code reflects the amendments to the Children and Families Bill and the code's clarity, layout and accessibility. We would welcome your comments on the issues for consultation, if possible by 1 May, in order for us to meet the 6 May deadline. Please send any comments to [email protected].