CSIE warmly welcomes the Education Committee’s report Solving the SEND Crisis. Published last week, the report shines a light on the growing pressures across the SEND system and sets out practical and ambitious recommendations for systemic reform.

We see it as a breath of fresh air, making a crystal-clear call for building a more inclusive education system. Even though an official definition of inclusive education is still lacking, the Committee’s language is clear: children and young people with labels of SEND should be learning alongside their peers in mainstream settings.

Our response to the Education Committee’s call for evidence had emphasised that real, systemic change is long overdue. Over the past 25 years, education in England has become less inclusive, leaving many children with labels of SEND excluded from mainstream schools, while the same problems identified more than a decade ago continue to persist: frustrated families, poor outcomes, and spiralling costs. We had also drawn the Committee’s attention to international examples, such as New Brunswick in Canada, where government commitment and clear policies have successfully created inclusive schools for all children.

We are truly delighted to see how the Education Committee has taken these and similar comments on board, and is making recommendations that truly honour and protect children’s rights.

We are particularly heartened by the recommendation that children’s legal rights should not be diluted and, instead, accountability must be strengthened to make the system work better. The report also calls for more clarity and greater consistency in what schools and other settings are expected to provide as “ordinarily available”. It rightly says that a sustainable funding model is essential, and calls for constructive solutions to workforce challenges, suggesting that more time, training and resources are made available. The report also calls for cross-sector collaboration between education, health and care services with clear duties and shared accountability. Finally, the report rightly emphasises that support is weakest in early years and post-16 settings, with urgent reforms needed there too.

We are delighted to see that the Education Committee has set out such a clear roadmap for change, in a way which acknowledges and protects children’s rights. The Department for Education’s forthcoming White Paper is a critical opportunity to act decisively on these recommendations, and we urge the government to seize this moment and commit to building a more equitable and inclusive education system for all children and young people.

CSIE stands ready to support this process with expertise, evidence and our commitment to ensuring that every child can be safe, included and learning in their local community.