Let’s hope pupils with Physical Disabilities get a fair deal under this review. In my last job a suggested list of criteria made almost no mention of PD (or long term medical conditions). I had seen EHCP requests turned down when pupils didn’t have learning needs.....they needed support with toileting, to be put in standing frames and to do physio.

As Christine Lenehan says, a great deal of work has already been done. The Education Select Committee started its own SEND Review in April 2018 and their final report is still pending, 17 months later. Their web page: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/special-educational-needs-and-disability-inquiry-17-19/ contains links to responses they received from organisations: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Education/Correspondence/SEND-published-online-submissions-17-19.pdf so, for example, the evidence from the Disabled Children's Partnership sets out the reality created by years of chronic underfunding, which has undermined the laudable aims of the CoP.  My concern is that although it is of course a positive step to have SEND provision on the agenda, rather than having yet another (long?) review which will reach totally predictable conclusions, it is now time to actually put the necessary funding and staffing in place to provide the support to which the CYP are entitled. I have written directly to Gavin Williamson to make the case for adequate resourcing for PD provision, but I'm only one voice. Perhaps colleagues would consider also doing this?

Also, I am now a governor at a local primary school, where they have two wheelchair using pupils. I have found this role to be an effective, direct way of raising awareness around PD in the school (which is very keen to be inclusive) and, most importantly, of seeing action taken. I simply mention this as a way of making change happen quickly on a very local and small scale!

Max

<p style="text-align: left;">Well said, Max! It's good to know that you're out there fighting for the rights of the CYP we support.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">We'll continue to do all we can and promote relevant and appropriate action. Thank you!</p>

This is the reply I have received from the DfE in response to my email about Specialist Teacher posts for PD being deleted, reduced, or bundled with other SEND categories, as well as TA posts being deleted, in various LAs.

Dear Mr Fishel
I am writing on behalf of the Secretary of State to thank you for your email of 6 September, about teaching assistants and specialist teachers for pupils with physical disability.

You may be interested to know that the department has provided funding to a range of condition specific organisations to develop resources and training to equip the workforce to deliver the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms introduced in 2014. This included specialist resources in relation to autism, dyslexia and specific learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, sensory impairments and physical disabilities.

The department has funded the development of a number of good practice guidance documents through its SEND schools’ workforce contracts, including a guide on the Effective Deployment of Teaching Assistants.

https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/whole-school-send/find-wss-resources.html.

The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance report; “Making best use of Teaching Assistants”, offers the latest evidence and makes a number of recommendations to help schools make best use of their teaching assistants. It identifies ways schools can deploy them in different contexts to deliver high quality support to pupils. The report also recommends that teaching assistants are fully prepared for their role in the classroom by having the skills and training necessary to carry out their work.

I would like to reassure you that the department recognises the importance of teachers developing and building on their awareness and understanding of SEND.

Our school-led system places the responsibility on schools to determine the training and support required by their staff to meet the needs of children with SEND, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.

The performance of all teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards which set out that teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and that they must be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

In 2018 we announced a SEND schools’ workforce contract worth £3.4 million over the period 2018 to 2020, which will be delivered by the Whole School SEND consortium, led by nasen. The aim of the SEND schools’ workforce contract is to embed SEND into school-led approaches to School Improvement in order to equip the workforce to deliver high quality teaching across all types of SEND.
The programme of work will drive education institutions to prioritise SEND; equip schools to identify and meet their training needs in relation to SEND; build a specialist workforce; and identify and respond to any gaps in the training and resources available to schools.

To support schools, there is a range of SEND-specific resources, including:

The nasen SEND gateway (www.sendgateway.org) was launched in May 2014 and was supported by funding from the department. This is an online portal offering education professionals free, easy access to high quality information, resources and training for meeting the needs of children with SEND. It provides resources for teaching professionals to develop new skills and understanding, navigate recent reforms to SEND and access resources and training materials from the UK’s leading voluntary community sector organisations that support children and young people with SEND across the age range 0 to 25.

With funding from the department, nasen has developed Focus on SEND (www.nasen.org.uk/newsviews/newsviews.free-send-training-for-all-practitioners.html), a package of free online continuous professional development (CPD) for all mainstream settings, from 0 to 25, across England. This CPD informs and helps develop best practice for meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND and is designed around a process that encourages reflection and collaboration while being embedded in the regular day-to-day activity of teachers and practitioners.

I hope this information is helpful and thank you for writing.

Unfortunately I can find nothing which answers my actual question.