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Petition watch
Petition watch Our readers are passionate about a wide range of issues. Here we will provide you with opportunities to support initiatives which are of importance to you. Petition watch comprises a list of petitions relating to SEN which are currently active on the UK Parliament website with more than 100 signatures at the time of compilation. To add your name to any of these, go to the relevant page on the UK Parliament website (petition.parliament.uk). The petitions are not just symbolic. Any which reach 10,000 names will receive a response from HM Government. At 100,000 names, there is a chance that it will receive a debate in Parliament. We will continue to monitor and update this list in future issues, and of course report in more detail on any which meet either threshold.
Require all school staff receive training on SEN children
Fund improved support for people with communication and swallowing needs
All school staff should be required to take a course on children with special educational needs (SEN). Too many school staff don’t have any idea how to engage with SEN children!
We want the Government to improve the lives of people of all ages with communication and swallowing needs by ensuring they are able to access the speech and language therapy that they and their families and carers need.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/587365
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/587872
Government Response: Reforms to teacher training The Teachers’ Standards define the minimum expectations of teachers’ professional practice and personal conduct. These standards set clear expectations that teachers must have an understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. To support all teachers, we are implementing a ‘golden thread’ of high-quality teacher training reforms. These reforms are designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching and to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed. This includes those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND Code of Practice and children in need of help and protection as identified in the Children in Need Review. Further support for the workforce Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) play an essential role in schools, supporting teaching staff to meet the needs of pupils with SEN and ensuring that schools have a clear and effective approach to inclusive education. Every maintained nursery, maintained mainstream school and mainstream academy must have a qualified teacher designated as SENCO. The Department has provided funding to the Whole School SEND consortium since 2018. Funding in 202122 will bring the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018. We have also funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2011 to deliver autism awareness training to education staff in early years, schools and further education settings.
Government Response: We welcome the recent report “Speech and language therapy during and beyond COVID-19” by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and its recommendations. We are undertaking the biggest nursing, midwifery, and Allied Health Professional recruitment drive in decades, which includes recruitment of speech and language therapists. In 2020 there were 620 acceptances to speech and language therapy programmes in England, an increase of 28% on 2019. On 23 November 2020 we published a Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, setting out the steps we have taken to strengthen the support available for people who are struggling, including those with communication and swallowing needs. With respect to speech and language therapies specifically for children and young people, last summer NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) published guidance making clear that essential services provided in the community, including therapies, should be restarted for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged up to 25 years who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or who are going through an assessment for one. Department of Health and Social Care
Department of Education
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