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Written question asked by Lee Anderson (Reform UK) on Friday, 10 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 April 2026. It was answered by Georgia Gould (Labour) on Monday, 20 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Special Educational Needs: Speech and Language Disorders

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the connection between speech, language and communication needs for children and their long-term employment prospects in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) nationally.

Answer

We set out our plans to reform the system of support for children with special educational needs in the Schools White Paper and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document and will continue to invest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention and an extension of the Early Language Support for Every Child programme. This includes £1.8 billion for the new Experts at Hand offer, £15 million to establish new speech and language therapy advanced practitioners, and £200 million to train staff in mainstream settings to better support pupils with SEND, including speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Nationally, in 2024/25, 72.5% of those with no primary special educational need achieved grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs, compared to 28.6% of those with SLCN as a primary need. In Nottinghamshire these figures were 73.7% and 34.3% respectively. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2024-25.

Nationally, for 2022/23 academic year study leavers, 68.0% of those who had completed 16 to 18 study with SLCN as a primary need were in sustained education, apprenticeships or employment in the following academic year, compared to 80.7% of those with no identified need. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/16-18-destination-measures/2023-24.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
125717
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Employment Special educational needs Speech and language disorders
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk