Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) pursuant to the written evidence provided by his Department to the Education Committee in its inquiry into Special Educational Needs, SEN 153, HC 631, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that local authorities provide a full list of places available at independent post-16 specialist colleges; and if he will make a statement;
[131915]
Answer
[holding answer 6 December 2012]: Independent specialist colleges make a valuable contribution to the education for young people with special educational needs. In September this year, the Government published draft legislation that would reform provision for children and young people with special educational needs. This draft legislation would place local authorities under a duty to consult independent specialist colleges when keeping their education and care provision under review (clause 7), both within their immediate area and beyond for young people for whom they are responsible and who have special educational needs. It would also require local authorities to publish a local offer setting out the provision they expect to be available both within and outside their area for children and young people for whom they are responsible (clause 11). We would expect this offer to include details of relevant independent specialist colleges and local authorities would continue to be able to commission places from them, where it is in a young person's best interests to do so.
The draft provisions are currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny. During this time, we have been exploring with the independent specialist college sector whether the provisions should give young people an explicit right to request a place at an independent specialist college with a corresponding duty on that institution to admit the young person.