Academies Bill [HL]

My Lords, I agree with the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, about SENCOs; she made a very important point. I had not intended to intervene but in briefing sent to me by TreeHouse, the charity that runs a school for children with autism, there is a question that has not yet been raised in the debate. It relates, particularly, to children with autism but I think it applies to children with SEN. Indeed, TreeHouse has worked with the special educational consortium on the Bill and agrees with all the briefings that it has sent to different Members of the House. In regard to the application of the SEN legal framework, TreeHouse states: ""Currently the Academies Bill provides that Academies are bound by the SEN Code of Practice, which is statutory guidance"." In its view, ""This provides only a small part of the legal protection that children with autism and their families currently have in maintained schools, where their rights are more strongly protected by legislation through the Education Act 1996 and the School Standards and Framework Act 1988 in addition to the SEN Code of Practice"," which other Members have mentioned. It continues: ""Schools that become Academies will therefore have weaker responsibilities for children with SEN, who, in turn, will have weaker legal protection"." It is a legitimate question for TreeHouse to raise and I hope that the Minister will be able to answer it.