It is being led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for SEND and will hear evidence, views and experiences from a range of professionals and experts, as well as young people themselves.
The inquiry will focus on the impact that Covid-19 has had upon young people’s mental health, social and emotional wellbeing, and learning outcomes.
The inquiry will also seek to establish “where the capacity and responsibility to address the impact of Covid-19 lies, whether this be with the government, the sector, parents and young people themselves or a combination of all of these”.
It will look to make recommendations to government on its role in mitigating and remedying the impact that Covid-19 has had.
Emma Hardy MP, chair of the APPG, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent disruption to education has been difficult for all children and young people but particularly those with SEND.
“Our inquiry will be wide-ranging and contribute towards how we can ensure that the education system is able to recover from the effects of the pandemic and provide greater support for children and young people with SEND. We welcome submissions from all interested parties, but we particularly would encourage contributions from parents, carers and young people themselves.”
The inquiry is open to receive evidence under four broad topics – communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health difficulties, and sensory and/or physical need – which will form the basis of at least four oral evidence sessions in Parliament (or virtually) from July to November 2020.
The National Association of Head Teachers, which is the secretariat for the APPG, has published the terms of reference for the inquiry.
- For details, visit www.naht.org.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/...