The government should put Special Educational Needs (SEN) families at the heart of Ofsted reforms, the MP for Bracknell has said.

This comes as the watchdog announced they are scrapping their single-word grading system following the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after receiving an ‘inadequate’ rating for her school in Caversham.

Parents will be able to view a ‘report card’ describing what inspectors have found at a school as part of the new system – but this will not be rolled out until September 2025.

The government has said that the new system could include ratings on how good support for SEN children is.

Peter Swallow asked the education minister in Parliament yesterday (September 3) for their review of Ofsted ratings to focus on special educational needs.

This academic year, parents will see grades across the existing subcategories of quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Mr Swallow praised the recent announcement that Ofsted will remove single-word gradings of schools, claiming it ‘fails to provide a balanced view of school performance’.

He asked Catherine McKinnell, education minister: “I welcome the government’s commitment to reviewing Ofsted’s review system and particularly reviewing it’s focus on special educational needs.

“Will the minister engage with families with special educational needs when developing the new school report card system?”

In response, the minister said: “There are too many children not getting the education that they deserve, and we see this as part of a process of resetting that relationship, resetting that system, so that we can have a school system that is inclusive.”

She added that the government will ‘endeavour’ for wider reforms to create a system that ‘meets the needs of every child in the country’.

SEN improvements were a key priority for Peter Swallow during his election campaign, drawing on his previous experience as a teacher and university lecturer.

Mr Swallow used his maiden speech in Parliament, a tradition for new MPs to make their first speech to the House of Commons, to highlight issues around education.

The MP said that during his campaign he was ‘privileged to get to know’ a 13-year-old child, named Fred, who has autism and ADHD. Described as ‘inquisitive’, he had spent 18 months out of education.

He said: “There are far too many children like him in Bracknell and across the country – so-called ghost children who are missing education because the right support is not in place. This is a national crisis and requires national solutions.

“For as long as I serve in this place, I will do everything I can to fight for better educational opportunities for all.”