The government says families of children with SEND will receive faster, earlier support from community based early intervention to be rolled out in every Best Start Family Hub from April.
As part of the government’s pledge to roll out the hubs in every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting an all-new dedicated SEND practitioner in each hub to provide direct, family facing support.
By 2028, Best Start Family Hubs will act as a ‘one stop shop’ for the whole community, the government pledged, offering parents a range of support including a menu of proven interventions such as child-focused speech and language sessions for toddlers and specialist parent and baby groups.
“This government has always been clear that the Best Start offer will follow Sure Start in its ambition to give every child gets the best possible start in life – with research showing that children who lived within a short distance of a Sure Start centre for their first five years were 0.9 percentage points more likely to achieve five good GCSEs at age 16,” the Department for Education said in a statement.
Currently, one in four families with children under five cannot access local children’s centres or Family Hubs, rising to one in three lower income families. The lack of support contributes to many children not being ready to start school, the statement added.
To access their share of the £500 million Best Start Family Hub investment, every local authority must prioritise the neighbourhoods where families face the greatest barriers to support, with an ambition for 70% of all hubs to be located in the 30% most disadvantaged communities.
Education secretary Bridget Philipson said:
“Giving every child the best start in life means revitalising family support so that parents can rely on it once again.
“Nowhere is that support more important than for families of children with SEND, where early, expert help can make all the difference not only for parents, but for children’s life chances.
“And now, local councils will need to work with us to put Best Start Family Hubs in the heart of communities, in service of the families who need them most, and on the frontline of our battle to break the link between background, and success.”
Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said:
“Across the country, I see too many families struggling to get the support they need for their children – parents navigating a maze of services, waiting months for appointments, watching small concerns grow into bigger challenges.
“Our Best Start Family Hubs will give families of children with SEND the early, joined-up support they’ve been missing for too long. With a dedicated SEND practitioner in every hub, parents will be able to access specialist help right in their own community.
“By prioritising disadvantaged areas, we’re not just tackling health inequalities – we’re giving every child, no matter their background, the best possible start in life.”
Positioning specialist SEND services at the heart of communities will enable families facing the greatest barriers to access timely, meaningful support, the government said.
The new offer will help parents understand their child’s development, identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.
The strengthened offer also builds on steady progress shown in new early years data towards the Plan for Change ambition to prepare thousands more children for school by age five. It is backed by new local targets set for every area, with councils now required to set out how they will drive progress towards the national goal by 2028.
Last week, the government committed to making sure parents play a central role in helping to shape the future of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system.
Georgia Gould, the minister for school standards, is hosting nine face-to-face events as part of a national public engagement campaign in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children. The campaign will also include five online events to explain the Department for Education’s five principles of reform, which are early intervention, local provision, fairness, effective practice, and shared working.
The events will provide tens of thousands of spaces for parents, families and those with an interest in the sector to share their views on a range of proposals, the Department for Education said.
“For too long families have felt unheard and left to battle a system that simply doesn’t deliver for their children,” Gould said.
“We’re committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for children with SEND, which is why we’re putting lived experience at the heart of our reforms and creating a direct line to parents across the nation.”
A schools white paper will be published early next year, followed by a formal consultation to discuss reforms.
“We want this to be the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation, and I urge parents, teachers and all those with views to participate and help us deliver lasting reform,” Gould added.
The campaign follows the government’s commitment to putting parents at the heart of reform, as set out in the education secretary’s interim response to the Education Select Committee (ESC)’s report on solving the SEND Crisis.
A development group of key stakeholders, including SEND parent groups, will meet regularly with ministers until the end of January to drive reforms. A toolkit will be shared with schools and settings to encourage them to share information about engagement on SEND reform with their communities.
Urgent work will continue to improve the current system for children, the Department for Education said.
Data published last week revealed 71% of school leaders enrolled in a programme to support neurodiversity felt better able to meet those children’s needs as a result.
The £22m Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme is enabling up to 2,850 mainstream primary schools to deliver earlier support for neurodiversity, including autism, dyslexia and ADHD.
PINS gives schools access to training to upskill staff on neurodiversity, create more inclusive classroom environments and develop stronger relationships with parent carers – ensuring children receive support at the earliest possible stage, in their local community school.
Other measures the government has already taken to improve the system include 10,000 new school places for children with SEND, early language support for an additional 20,000 children, and professionals trained in supporting parents through Best Start Family Hubs rolling out to every area from April.
“There are many settings already doing a fantastic job of supporting pupils with SEND and ensuring they are a part of school life,” the Department for Education said.
“Ministers will be visiting schools across the country to draw on these examples, testing views on what truly works for children, parents and teachers.”
