National standards for SEND are expected as part of a make-over of the forever-failing SEND system. This follows Education Policy Institute鈥檚 2021 conclusion that how pupils are identified with SEND varies from school to school and evidence from the National Audit Office and the education select committee that what pupils receive also varies from one area to another. But what 鈥� if anything 鈥� can SEND standards really achieve? At the end of January, Gillian Keegan blasted the CEO of Southern Water over its 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� sewage dumping less than 48 hours after she voted in the Commons to maintain the for another 15 years. This perfectly illustrates the 鈥榮tandards鈥� problem; they generally come in two sizes: those lacking firm enforcement and those lacking a standard worth enforcing. The current standard for SEND provision requires schools to use their 鈥渂est endeavours鈥�, a phrase favoured by lawyers where a party has only limited control over their obligations. In sum, the Children and Families Act 2014 imprecisely balances the responsibilities of schools and local authorities. But standardising these kinds of decisions between 152 Local Authorities, 20,000 mainstream schools and 1.2m children with special needs will only entail yet more smoke and mirrors. While academisation has played a part in reducing local authorities鈥� influence over the process, there鈥檚 no evidence they鈥檇 be doing a better job otherwise. The local government association has raised the pressure to increase mainstream inclusion, and standardisation is in the air, but be careful what you wish for. One year ago, directors of NHS England and NHS Improvement hailed the 鈥渨ide-ranging support received through for mental health care鈥�. So which type of standard did they go for, the unenforceable or the underwhelming? Gillian Keegan will oversee the policy solution Sir Brian Lamb most feared Under the standard for non-urgent community mental health care, children, young people and families should start to receive help within four weeks. But that 鈥渉elp鈥� can be as little as another referral. It can also tale the wistful shape of 鈥渁greement about a patient care plan鈥�, but what if there isn鈥檛 agreement? That鈥檚 where we so often are with SEND. It鈥檚 why we had in response to the select committee, which reviewed the Children and Families Act, which arose from on failures in the system. And what was Lamb鈥檚 primary concern? That there should be, 鈥渃ommunication and engagement with parents rather than standard information鈥�. So there you have it: Gillian Keegan will oversee the type of policy solution which Lamb most feared, a type imbued with 鈥溾�� but which has no evidence base in our schools. We鈥檝e come full, infernal circle, and it鈥檚 so perfectly SEND. Research has highlighted many concerns about standardisation in public sector services, including those for children. In a study published last year, cautioned that 鈥渢hat standards do not exist in isolation but are introduced within institutionalised organisational settings鈥�. We can certainly see schools and Trusts in that light, and there is currently no love lost between them and the DfE. And in 2015, found that, in fields 鈥渋nfluenced by organisational demands and market endeavour鈥� (of which the schools sector is now one), standardisation 鈥渞equires professionals capable of handling a mix of logics without totally yielding discretionary power鈥�. Yet the standardisation model favoured by government threatens to bypass this key discretionary aspect. That鈥檚 in part because, as set out in 2020, increasing deviance from standards over time comes down to organisational factors including lack of leadership, weak competency development and lack of reflection arenas. Ofsted鈥檚 local area reviews for SEND have found serious weaknesses in half of our local authorities, including precisely in these aspects. Meanwhile, 鈥檚 2021 study points to the unintended negative consequences of mandating standardised measures which lack transferability across settings. The same is likely to be true of referrals and interventions in our diverse schools sector. And in a related study published last year, collected views from practitioners that forms and procedures made it 鈥渕ore important that everything on paper is correct instead of the actual care we provided鈥�. Parents want transparency and accountability in SEND provision; they don鈥檛 want documentary disguise. As put it in a 2021 study, 鈥渄isguising complex problems as simple problems by offering apparently 鈥榮imple鈥� solutions does not really make the problems any simpler. It only makes it more likely that the solutions will not work鈥�. After 40 years of tinkering without satisfaction, you鈥檇 think we鈥檇 have learned.