Government's Ambition to Reduce Attainment Gap
The government has announced plans to halve the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in England by the time children born during the current Parliament complete secondary education.
This initiative is expected to be detailed in a new Schools White Paper, scheduled for full publication on Monday morning.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson emphasized that the reforms aim to dismantle the "one-size-fits-all system" which she asserts has "denied" children from disadvantaged backgrounds equal opportunities for success compared to their peers.
Potential Changes to SEND Support
However, the proposals are anticipated to include significant and potentially contentious changes to support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which would require support from Labour MPs to be implemented.
The government intends to close the achievement gap between the richest and poorest pupils in England by reforming how schools allocate funding for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"These reforms are a golden opportunity to cut the link between background and success - one that we must seize," Phillipson stated.
"Our Schools White Paper presents the blueprint for opportunity for the next generation, with an education system that truly serves every child, whatever their needs and wherever in the country they grow up."
Reassessment of SEND Support Rights
Leaked information suggests that one aspect of the plan to be announced on Monday will involve reviewing the rights to support for children with SEND as they progress through the school system.
From 2029, children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs)—legal documents that specify their entitlement to additional support—will undergo reassessment after primary school as part of a broader system overhaul.
The BBC understands this will be accompanied by an extension of legal rights to encompass all children with SEND through school-led Individual Support Plans (ISP).
Every child identified with special educational needs, including those without an EHCP, will have an ISP developed by their school, which will carry some form of legal status.
Parental Concerns Over Legal Rights
Hannah Luxford, whose teenage son experiences anxiety, shared her experience with the EHCP process, stating it took 18 months to secure one for her son.
"It's an unhelpful, adversarial, complex system that is designed to make you give up," Luxford told the BBC.
Luxford noted that her son is currently thriving at a funded virtual school but expressed concerns about how the new reforms might affect his legal rights.
"I want to hear that for those of us already with EHCPs that we are protected," she said, highlighting that her son is receiving the "education he deserves" at his current school.
"If that's taken away, it will take us back to where we were five years ago."
Expert Analysis on SEND System
Luke Sibieta from the Institute for Fiscal Studies described the current situation as the "worst of all worlds," citing rising numbers of EHCPs and increasing costs without corresponding improvements in quality for children.
"Unfortunately we still have a system that is characterised by conflict, by fight, but also by really patchy levels of quality."
Current Attainment Gap Statistics
The latest GCSE results indicate that the disadvantage gap index for year 11 students stood at 3.92, according to the Department for Education (DfE).
This figure had previously decreased to a low of 3.66 in the 2019/20 academic year, with minor fluctuations in the intervening years, but began to widen following the pandemic.
In the 2022/2023 academic year, the gap reached 3.94, marking the highest level observed in a decade.
