To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government ensuring that young people with special educational needs and disabilities transition well from the education system into (a) work and (b) a community placement.

Well-planned transitions are key to setting children and young people up for success.

On 2 March 2023, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement plan, in response to the SEND and AP Green Paper, published in March 2022. The Improvement Plan outlines the government’s mission for the SEND and AP system to fulfil children and young people’s potential, build parents’ trust, and provide financial sustainability.

The department will improve ordinarily available mainstream provision with new national SEND and AP standards, to ensure we deliver a consistent experience regardless of the setting a child or young person attends, where they live, or their family background.

As part of this, the department is currently exploring good practice on transitions, to provide consistent, timely, and high-quality preparation for children and young people with SEND when they transition between different stages of their education, employment, or adult social care services.

To further help with preparation for adulthood, the department is supporting the Department for Work and Pensions to develop an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs, including people with SEND. The Adjustments Passport will capture the in-work support needs of the individual and empower them to have confident discussions about adjustments with employers.