SNJ Intro:
At SNJ, we’ve long argued that meaningful change in SEND can only happen when parent carers are genuinely listened to; this means engaging with a broad, diverse community whose experiences reflect the full reality of the system, not just a select few. Families differ in culture, geography, resources, needs and history, and any policymaking that relies on a narrow or curated set of voices will inevitably miss the truth of what children and young people are facing. When legal rights and life chances are at stake, as they currently are, policymakers need depth, breadth and plurality.
Understanding that diversity of experience is essential. Previous reforms promised a more inclusive, more responsive system, yet each time has faltered when parental insight was diluted, oversimplified, or taken less seriously. Co-production must be embedded both at an individual and strategic level, but the same failures will be repeated unless the Government understands how and why it failed previously.
That’s why we’re so pleased to share this new article from Professor Brian Lamb OBE. Brian shared his invaluable insight with us on our podcast in 2024, discussing parental engagement. His work on the Lamb Inquiry and the 2014 reforms continues to shape the sector’s understanding of parental engagement, rights, and accountability. Here, he sets out what must be protected and strengthened if the government is serious about co‑creating a SEND system that families—all families—can trust.
Learn from mistakes on coproduction, or you’ll just repeat them, by Professor Brian Lamb OBE
In a recent speech, Bridget Philipson, Secretary of State (SoS) for Education, quoted approvingly the socialist and educationalist R.H. Tawney’s observation that “what a wise parent would wish for their children, so the state must wish for all its children.”
The SoS has also committed to “co-creation, testing our proposals with the people who matter most in this reform—the families.” What needs to be changed to ensure parents’ and carers’ rights are protected and enhanced?
The Lamb Inquiry called for parents ‘to be listened to more and brought into a partnership with statutory bodies in a more meaningful way’ (Lamb, 2009:3). One of the major innovations of the 2014 reforms was to establish a legal right for parents, children and young people to have their views taken into account in the planning and provision of services; from individual assessment and service provision up to and including strategic service planning and delivery.
The strengthening of the rights to engagement was welcomed by parents, carers and many professionals at the time. Yet, despite an early focus on parental engagement in assessment and service planning during the introduction of EHCPs and the Local Offer through the Pathfinder Pilots, the momentum has not been consistently maintained.
Listening to and working with parents
The DfE is suggesting the 2026 reforms will include a greater focus on inclusive provision in mainstream schools. For the reforms to be successful, it is essential to make time to engage with parents and carers. Parents want face-to-face communication with professionals who know their children well and take time to explore aspirations and appropriate support together in a structured way. While this may be time-intensive, schools that have adopted this approach confirm the benefits. Co-production ensures better outcomes for children and improved parental confidence in provision.
With that, the need to rely on the statutory process and Tribunals would be reduced.
The SEND Code of Practice (2015) noted discussions with parents “involves a considerable amount of skill” (2015 6.68). The Education Endowment Foundation research found there is a very strong case for more specific training for early years and school staff in the skills to better engage parents and identify the resources to be able to do so; skills that would benefit schools in engaging all families. Yet, developing good parental engagement and co-production at school has not been a major focus of policy or training for the schools’ workforce.
Working with parents training?
There was no mention of training on parental engagement in the welcome recent announcement of the £200 million additional funds for teacher training on SEND. Hopefully, this is an omission and there is still time to rectify it as the programme develops.
New legislation needs to go beyond the current SEN school information report for parents, especially in requiring what might be ordinarily available within school, and how SEND resources in schools are protected. Without confidence that schools can provide what has been agreed, engagement becomes an empty promise.
Clear guidance on co-production and engagement for schools and services would encourage all settings to move towards best practice. To have more chance of success, the reformed SEND framework should be integrated further with a rights-based approach exemplified in the Equality Act 2010 and for which new guidance has recently been published.
Why Co-production and Engagement Work
The current SEND Code of Practice sums up evidence of the impact of co-production and parental engagement, stating (DfE 2015, par 4.13):
“effective parent participation can lead to a better fit between families’ needs and the services provided, higher satisfaction with services, reduced costs (as long-term benefits emerge), better value for money and better relationships between those providing services and those using them.”
The Ofsted/CQC Local Area reviews have backed up those conclusions: “In the best area SEND arrangements, children and families will tell us they are influential in decision-making” (Ofsted 2021) and that “The role of the parent–carer forum featured prominently in the most successful areas. In these, leaders had understood that co-production meant working with families as equal partners.” (Ofsted 2021). This should come as no surprise. One of the main causes of the lack of trust in the SEND system is when parents are not engaged with and listened to (Lamb 2009). Inappropriate provision and poor outcomes for children, young people and families often stem from this failure to engage.
The DfE has stated in its principles for reform that, “Education, health and care services should work in partnership with one another, local government, families, teachers, experts and representative bodies to deliver better experiences and outcomes for all our children.” While the principle is welcome, the notion of partnership is a throwback to previous SEND regimes. Better to ground this aspiration in the concept of co-production and engagement and embed it in practice across schools, service planning and assessments. Ensuring those rights are retained and enhanced in the proposed reforms is essential, supported by clear statutory guidance and models of good practice.
The Local Offer was originally intended to be as much a strategic tool for local planning with parents as an information resource, with the opportunity to genuinely co-produce services, based on an understanding of what is available locally and what is needed. While that intention has only been partially fulfilled at best, the principle of co-production of services must be strengthened and implemented fully in planning services for the future. There also needs also be a recognition that parents should not have to police the system but are a part of it, listened to and their views reflected in service priorities and provision.
“Every attempt to reform the SEND framework since its inception follows the same path, with each revision promising a more inclusive system with less reliance on statutory assessments to meet needs. However, without a focus on securing parental trust through engagement and co-produced services, the danger is that the reforms will be destined to suffer the same fate as previous attempts.”
Ensuring Parental Engagement is fundamental to successful reform.
Genuine co-production is not simply about contributing to a pre-existing structure, but helping to define what the parameters of that structure are, and which services and support will really make a difference to families. If the framing of the problems is wrong, the solutions will be too. Narratives of “parental demands” skewing the system have potentially undermined discussion of what reform is really needed. The Institute of Fiscal Studies recently concluded that; “There is some evidence of rising needs, but much of the increase reflects improved recognition of needs that were always there.”
Working with parents to identify the structural problems which have not been of parents’ making will be a more productive route to successful reforms than blaming parents for the system’s problems.
Every attempt to reform the SEND framework since its inception follows the same path, with each revision promising a more inclusive system with less reliance on statutory assessments to meet needs. However, without a focus on securing parental trust through engagement and co-produced services the danger is that the reforms will be destined to suffer the same fate as previous attempts.
Parental engagement and genuine co-production are the key to changing the culture of provision, helping to ensure appropriate investment in support and improving outcomes. The DfE needs to ensure that the reformed SEND system is designed to listen to those informed and “wise parents”.
Further reading from the author
The SEN Policy Forum Parent Policy Seminar in June 2022 explored the themes of co-production and parental engagement. For a fuller understanding of the discussion and evidence referred to here see the collection of articles: https://senpolicyresearchforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Parent-policy-seminar-paper-June-22.pdf
About the author
Professor Brian Lamb OBE was the Chair of the Lamb Inquiry (2009) and worked with parent’s groups, LAs and Schools to support the implementation of the 2014 reforms. Brian has published a number of papers on parental engagement, SEND and disability rights and is visiting Professor of SEND at Derby University.
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Also read:
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
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