Special Educational Needs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her letter to the Chair of the Education Select Committee dated 22 October 2025, when she will begin (a) to seek views through listening sessions in every region of the country and (b) fortnightly Ministerial meetings with key parent and expert groups; and if she will provide a list of those groups.
Answered by Georgia Gould
In early December, the department launched a national conversation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform, building on extensive engagement over the past year with children, young people, parents and professionals.
We are hosting nine regional face‑to‑face events and five open online conversations focused on the five principles of reform. These began on 2 December and provide thousands of opportunities for families and the sector to share their views. We are also running a wide range of roundtable discussions with young people, parents and practitioners, including sessions with KIDS, Speech and Language UK and the Council for Disabled Children. We are encouraging wider participation through our Citizen Space portal.
The department also convenes a weekly development group of SEND parent organisations and key stakeholders, representing a broad range of voices across the sector. Membership includes:
• Council for Disabled Children
• Disabled Children’s Partnership
• National Network of Parent Carer Forums
• National Association for Special Educational Needs
• The Difference
• Dingley’s Promise
• The Athelstan Trust
• Let Us Learn Too
• The SEND Sanctuary.
Additional organisations will be invited on a rolling basis, aligned with the topics under discussion.
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