David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason statutory guidance Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015) does not apply to higher education institutions.

Edward Timpson

Higher education institutions are not covered by the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years for good reason.

The new system of Education Health and Care (EHC) plans has a strong focus on the outcomes sought for children and young people with SEND. The Code of Practice defines the attainment of a place in higher education as a successful outcome.

Local authorities are not responsible for the education of young people in higher education. The sector has its own support system in the form of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). It would not be sensible for these systems to overlap. For example, it would not be reasonable to hold a local authority to account for securing special educational provision for a young people in an independent higher education institution.

In the academic year 2013/14, the last year for which full figures are available, DSA totalling £152.7m was provided to 68,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Government also currently provides annual funding to publicly funded institutions, through the Disability element of the Student Opportunity Funding of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) grant, to help them recruit and support disabled students. This funding rose to £20 million for 2015/16, an increase of £5 million on the previous year.

The Code of Practice provides guidance on the transition to higher education. It says that good transition planning should include:

• sharing the EHC plan with the university (with the young person’s consent);
• ensuring the young person is aware of DSA and has made an early application, so that support is in place when their university course begins; and
• ensuring the continuity of health and care services where these continue to be required by the young person.

In addition we are working with those conducting DSA assessments to ensure that they understand EHC plans and how they can assist and inform assessments.

As independent and autonomous bodies, higher education institutions are entirely responsible for addressing any issues of discrimination that might come to their attention. The Government provides a legal framework for individuals, which protects their right not to be discriminated against – primarily through the Equality Act 2010. Through the Equality Act, higher education institutions are prohibited by law from discriminating against students with protected characteristics, such as disability.