16th April, two days before Good Friday and many SENCo colleagues are trying desperately to ‘switch off’. I know I have been, after some very lengthy half-terms and as ever, plenty on! However, whatever ‘down time’ you may have thought was yours became punctuated by an Open Consultation on a revised Code. While ‘surprised’ by the announcement yesterday I thought it useful to signpost the consultation to colleagues and provide some initial stimulus for discussions and planning.
The DfE launched the previous public consultation on a new ‘Special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice: 0 to 25 years’ in autumn 2013. It closed in December and more than 700 responses were received, including a very detailed one from me! In order to support the revised code and ensure that it is clearer and easier to understand, the DfE tells us that it has:
Consultation on the revised draft of the code of practice is not ‘open’ and the DfE invites views on a set of specific questions. There is a limited period of time, until 6 May at 5pm for responses. My next post will set out my initial thoughts.