Special Educational Needs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what definition will the Department apply to the term complex needs within the context of the SEND system reforms; and how will this definition be operationalised in decision-making processes.
Answered by Georgia Gould
In the department’s consultation ‘Special educational needs and disabilities reform: putting children and young people first’, the term ’complex needs’ is used to describe children and young people who require support at the specialist level, which will be set out in Specialist Provision Packages (Packages).
As part of this consultation, we published an outline of seven proposed Packages. We have now appointed an independent expert panel to lead development of the full list of Packages, in discussion with families and professionals working across education and healthcare.
The department is considering responses to the consultation, including how we best provide support to children with high levels of need. These reforms are still proposals and not final decisions. We are continuing to listen and are carefully reviewing feedback before setting out the government's response and next steps.
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