Nursery World - MPs' report on special educational needs says draft bill 'lacks detail'

A committee of MPs has welcomed the overall direction of the Government's proposed legislation to reform provision for children with special educational needs (SEN), but warns that the draft legislation lacks significant detail, making it impossible to assess the impact of the proposals.

The Education Select Committee has published a report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft SEN clauses of the Children and Families Bill.

Launching the report, the committee’s chair Graham Stuart MP said, ‘Far too much detail remains unclear until ministers issue draft regulations and the new SEN Code of Practice.

‘The Government does not intend to lay the new Code of Practice before Parliament, but we recommend that the Code remains a statutory document, subject to consultation and laid before the House.’

The MPs say, ‘Our report concludes that the general thrust of the draft clauses is sound, but the legislation lacks detail, without which a thorough evaluation of the likely success of the Government's proposals is impossible. The Government intends to provide this detail in regulations and a revised SEN Code of Practice. It is essential that these documents address the concerns raised in the detailed written submissions to our inquiry and that the revised Code of Practice remains a statutory document, subject to consultation and laid before Parliament.'

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