More flexibility needed on relaxation of special needs duties during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Article summary

The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the government to provide clarity on the relaxation of special needs duties during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The LGA stated that the pandemic has made it difficult to deliver the support set out in pupils' Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHP). The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows for the relaxation or temporary removal of ECHPs, but the LGA believes that it does not go far enough and that ‘councils and their partners need greater flexibility to meet the needs of children with EHCPs’. The LGA has called on the Department for Education to ‘urgently set out its definition of "reasonable endeavours" that takes account of the pressures that councils are under in delivering support’.