Political Opinion: Action to address the SEND crisis

Suitable education for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is an issue familiar to many families in Northampton and across the country. The past 15 years have seen the number of children with education, health and care (EHC) plans more than triple to 26,000, leaving schools struggling to meet these growing demands.

I’ve met with countless families facing difficult choices as a result of a system which is in too many instances failing children with SEND, and who feel that the options they have been offered are not fit for purpose - if indeed they have been offered any at all.

Alongside my colleague Mike Reader MP, I welcomed a group of parents of children with SEND to Parliament in October, where we heard about their experiences of fighting for their children’s rights and the change they want to see. I also met recently with SENDs 4 Dads to hear more about their work supporting dads and male carers of children with SEND. I’m looking forward to holding a reception with this group in Parliament in the summer so that other Members of Parliament can have the opportunity to hear about the important role SENDs 4 Dads are playing.

The new Government has a Plan for Change that is focused on making sure that every family has access to a good local school place for their child, regardless of their needs.

As soon as the Secretary of State for Education came into post, she restructured her department to prioritise tackling the SEND crisis by moving SEND and alternative provision under the responsibility of the Schools Minister, bringing them into the heart of education policy.

The Government has since outlined plans to improve SEND education, with a multi-million funding injection to create 10,000 more SEND places. £740 million will be distributed to create new places in specialist schools and adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible for all children, including by creating specialist facilities.

This comes alongside a major investment of £1 billion for high needs education to fund 44,500 more places in mainstream schools by 2028 announced in the Budget, bringing total high needs SEND funding to over £12 billion for this year.

We’ve also changed the rules around how local councils can use their capital funding for children with SEND to create places in local, mainstream schools – ending the battles some families face to find a nearby or suitable place.

Ofsted’s findings last year of ‘widespread and/or systemic failings’ in West Northamptonshire’s SEND provision have been well-publicised and, importantly, they have been the source of renewed focus on dealing with the current serious issues faced by parents of SEND children in ensuring their children have appropriate schooling. But it is very clear that much more needs to be done at local level to match the Government’s impetus for change. Too many mistakes have been made in the past – parents’ views have been side-lined and unforgivable amounts of taxpayer’s money wasted on tribunal cases which the local authority was bound to lose.

Labour in Northampton have been on the side of SEND families, fighting for their children’s rights to an education; whether it’s conducting casework, joining protests to highlight failings or speaking up in council meetings. Labour’s local election manifesto promises to make children’s wellbeing a top priority and makes clear that if Labour won power on West Northants Council, the administration would work with SEND families to ensure their voices are heard in decision-making and strategies.

A Labour-run West Northants Council, supported by a Labour Government, would put the focus we need to improving outcomes for children with SEND, and their families too.