Commenting on today's speech detailing the government's agenda, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"Children with SEND have been failed for too long. The legislation announced today risks failing them again. These proposals cannot be delivered on the funding and workforce commitments now on the table.
"There is a serious workload risk for education staff right across the reform package. Targeted Plus, individual support plans, specialist provision packages, inclusion bases, the co-ordination of Experts at Hand, new training duties, National Inclusion Standards, the new Inclusion Strategy duty and new accountability measures all fall on the same SENCos, class teachers and support staff – people who are already at breaking point. This is a potential disaster that SEND parents can also well do without.
"Ministers' ambitions on SEND will be undermined further by the Schools White Paper's accountability proposals. Retaining Progress 8, introducing new high-attainment measures, extending Targeted RISE on data triggers and widening Ofsted's role on inclusion all pull in the wrong direction. Reform of accountability and curriculum is a precondition for inclusive practice, not an optional accompaniment.
"We welcome a government willing to act on SEND. But good intentions are no substitute for serious investment. SEND reform will succeed only if the Treasury matches ambition with resources."