This week I report on a consultation to establish the Child Protection Authority and the announcement of £3bn for mainstream SEND places.

Establishing the Child Protection Authority in England
The government is consulting on the Child Protection Authority (CPA), a national body to improve child protection. The CPA is envisaged as an expert, accurate and decisive body that makes the multi-agency child protection system clearer, more unified and ensure there is ongoing improvements through effective evidence-based support.

The consultation seeks views on the CPA’s proposed functions, governance, and interaction with existing bodies and will close on 5 March 2026.

£3bn for mainstream SEND places, but special free schools face uncertainty
The government has announced that £3 billion will be spent creating tens of thousands of new specialist places in mainstream schools. However, the DfE has also revealed that up to 77 special and alternative provision (AP) free schools that were in the pipeline could be replaced with funding instead given to councils to use to “more flexibly and quickly” deliver equivalent places.

Some of the £3 billion for new places will go towards creating places across the country in mainstream schools for children with SEND so that they are less likely to have to travel far for their education. Dedicated breakout areas in schools would enable children who require more intensive support to access lessons “as and when appropriate”, while remaining embedded in their local school community. The announcement comes after government figures estimated that local authorities are funding home-to-school transport for around 180,000 pupils with SEND.