Special Educational Needs: Armed Forces
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the outcomes of Service children with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
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