Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential role of the local offer in reducing the number of pupils with autism affected by official and unofficial exclusion.

Mr Edward Timpson

An interim evaluation of the school exclusions pilot, published in March 2013, found early indications of schools taking more responsibility for pupils at risk of exclusion, collaborating with each other and working in partnership with local authorities to improve alternative provision in their areas. Such approaches benefit all pupils vulnerable to exclusion, including those with autism.

The Department for Education has introduced wide ranging reforms through the Children and Families Act 2014 to improve provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs or a disability.

The Act requires local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability. The local offer will set out in one place information about provision families can expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans.

The local offer will provide children, young people and parents with clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the services and support available and how to access it, including that from schools.

It will make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving families and service providers in its development and review, enabling them to have a greater say in how services and support develop over time.

This should therefore have an important role to play in improving outcomes and reducing exclusions for children and young people with SEN, including those with autism.