Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the changes would allow children with SEND to be better supported to transition into the national curriculum.

The introduction of "pre-key stage standards" from September aims to make it easier for children with SEND to make the transition onto the national curriculum.

Pupils working below the national curriculum, many of whom have a SEND, are currently subject to "P scales" attainment targets. But these are to be scrapped by the government following an independent review, chaired by special school Head Teacher Diane Rochford, into testing of SEND pupils.

An October 2016 report from the review revealed that 60 per cent of parents and carers did not think P scales provided useful information about their child.

The new standards will have a stronger focus on assessing the abilities of each child and give schools more freedom to tailor the curriculum to pupils' individual needs.

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