The Government is investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to create new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or in Alternative Provision, as part of its wider vision to ensure children with SEND or in Alternative Provision receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. Our SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan seeks to create a more inclusive school system where children’s needs are identified and supported earlier, reducing the numbers of preventable exclusions and expensive long-term placements and leading to improvements in children’s wellbeing and outcomes, including attendance. The Department published the SEND and AP Improvement Plan in March 2023. The Improvement Plan is backed by significant investment, including over £10 billion for the high needs budget in 2023–24, an increase of over 50% in the last four years. As a part of the Improvement Plan, the Government is testing a new approach through its Change Programme in 9 regional partnerships. This will involve the introduction of new national standards to ensure children with SEND and in Alternative Provision receive an excellent education and are prepared for adulthood, and will include a new performance framework for local authorities that will incorporate improving attendance as a key outcome. This will support children and young people to get back on track, and wherever possible, re-integrate successfully into mainstream education and attend regularly. The Department is also asking local authorities and schools to consider what else they can do to improve inclusive practice by raising the standard for what support is ‘ordinarily available’ in schools, supported by community-based specialist teams that can help spot needs early, and put support in place quickly. The Change Programme will run from September 2023 until August 2025 and will provide both real-time lessons that can be shared widely and provide the evidence base to support future funding or legislative changes. Improved attendance is a key focus of the work.