HC Deb 08 March 2004 vol 418 cc1363-5W
Mr. Hoban

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources are available to assist children whose special educational needs are identified before the start of compulsory schooling. [157152]

Mr. Miliband

In all but exceptional cases, children below statutory school age will be supported through the resources and intervention arrangements that are normally available to schools and early years settings. Resources have also been made available to local authorities and their Early Years Development

Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs) to ensure that all early years settings have access to advice and support from Early Years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators as well as specialist teachers and educational psychologists.

In September 2002, we launched the Early Support Pilot Programme (ESPP) to improve services for babies and very young disabled children and their families. This is a four-year, £13 million programme to develop more co-ordinated, multi-agency support for children and their families. Pathfinder programmes were launched in nine areas in 2003.

Local authorities are also able to provide access to a home-based learning programme, such as Portage, or the services of a peripatetic support teacher, to help children with SEN learn how to learn.

For those children with particularly severe and complex needs, local authorities are able to provide places in special schools or resourced provision within mainstream settings from their schools budget.

Mr. Hoban

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places there were in special schools in(a) the state sector and (b) the non-state sector in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2003. [157154]

Margaret Hodge

The figures are available for the numbers of pupils in special schools but we do not collect data for the numbers of places in special schools.

In January 1997, there were 93,018 pupils in maintained special schools, 5,810 pupils with statements of SEN in independent schools and 4,992 pupils with statements of SEN in non-maintained special schools.

In January 2003, there were 88,930 pupils in maintained special schools, 6,990 pupils with statements of SEN in independent schools and 4,840 pupils with statements of SEN in non-maintained special schools.

Mr. Hoban

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils with special educational needs(a) with a statement and (b) without a statement are educated in (i) special schools, (ii) specialist classes or units within mainstream schools and (iii) other classes within mainstream schools. [157750]

Margaret Hodge

[holding answer 1 March 2004]: Information about the provision being made for pupils with statements of special educational need is collected from local authorities in January each year. In January 2003, the proportions were as follows:

Special educational needs Percentage
Special schools (including maintained, non-maintained

and independent)

 37.5
Resourced provision, specialist classes or units within

mainstream

 7.5
Maintained mainstream schools 53.8
Pupil referral units 0.7
Other independent schools 0.5

Data about the provision for pupils with SEN but without a statement is not collected from local authorities but information is available from the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census. Pupils in specialist classes or units within mainstream are not identified separately. In January 2003, the proportions were as follows:

Special educational needs Percentage
Special schools (including maintained, non-maintained

and independent)

 0.2
Maintained mainstream schools (including resourced

provision, specialist classes or units within mainstream)

 95.7
Pupil referral units 0.5
Independent and non-maintained schools 3.6

Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent to which statemented needs are being met. [157284]

Margaret Hodge

The Education Act 1996 places duties on local education authorities (LEAs) and all LEA-maintained schools to identify, assess and make suitable provision to meet children's special educational needs (SEN). They may make and maintain statements on such children where appropriate, and section 324(5)(a) of the Act imposes a statutory duty on LEAs to arrange that the special educational provision specified in statements they maintain is made for the child, unless the child's parent has made suitable arrangements. We have no reason to believe that LEAs do not meet the needs of statemented children in the great majority of cases. However, it is open to parents and others to complain to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if they consider that an LEA is failing in its statutory duties in relation to implementing and maintaining statements, with a view to him exercising his powers under sections 497 and 497A of the 1996 Act. We consider any such complaints carefully. In addition, the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) monitors the performance of LEAs in meeting their statutory duties, including those relating to children with special educational needs.

The Government's new SEN "Strategy Removing Barriers to Achievement", launched on 11 February, will build on the improvements to the statutory framework brought about by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act and the SEN Code of Practice, both 2001. We believe that all children with SEN will benefit from the proposals in the Strategy, on which we consulted widely prior to publication.