This week, Lee sat down with the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to discuss the government's Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper and the SEND consultation.

I thought we would have had a lot more time than we actually had, which meant a few questions I had prepared from the 1,000+ questions submitted weren’t asked. And probably not being able to go back on every answer in the way I'd have liked, but I decided to focus on giving the Ed Sec a chance to bring clarity to some of what had been proposed. There were things left on the table and some answers that deserved more pushback than time allowed. That's worth being upfront about.

The conversation covered SEND funding and what the £4 billion investment will actually look like in a mainstream classroom, the new Individual Support Plans, what happens to EHCPs, inclusion bases, the role of SENCOs, support staff pay and recognition, workload concerns including the future of the 1,265 directed hours, early intervention through the Best Start Family Hubs, curriculum changes, and Ofsted's new inspection framework, including whether the data suggests disadvantaged schools are being disproportionately affected.

Some of those questions got fuller answers than others. Some of the answers raised further questions we didn't get time to follow up on. That's the reality of a time-limited sit-down with a Secretary of State.

The SEND consultation is open now and closes 18 May 2026. Whether you're a teacher, support staff, parent or professional, they're asking for responses -

https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/ 

Head to neu.org.uk/abolish-ofsted to find the Ofterd risk assessment guide from the NEU.

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