Parents of SEND children in West Northants heavily criticise council for 'failing' their kids in scathing open letter

Parents of special needs children in West Northants have heavily criticised the council for ‘failing their children’.

West Northants SEND Action Group, made up of campaigning parents of SEND children, have penned a scathing open letter to West Northants Council this month (April).

The letter details parents who have been made to feel ‘suicidal’ following threats of fines and punishments from the local authority.

The action group says that the correct provision for their children is not being met by the council.

Because of this, some SEND parents are not sending their children to school and in turn the council are threatening action against them by way of fines.

Parents have been fighting back by taking WNC to tribunals. A freedom of information request submitted by this newspaper found that in 2022, the council spent £274,935.54 in legal fees to defend itself in court.

Open letter

The open letter reads: “We have been concerned for some time by the punitive approaches used where children with SEND face barriers to school attendance.

“Since September, we have been appealing to you to pause all fines and legal proceedings in cases where the children involved have SEND, including mental health difficulties. You acknowledged that issuing threats of fixed penalty notices / fixed penalty notices to families experiencing barriers to school attendance is unhelpful and appeared open to adopting a more supportive approach.

“Sadly, however, we are still being contacted by families who are suffering as a result of your approach.

"Meanwhile, more and more parents are removing their children from the system due to the fear of being fined or even imprisoned due to struggling to get their children into school every day. Often these parents are already at breaking point due to the strain of fighting to have their children’s needs recognised and met. The repeated threat of school attendance proceedings, or the receipt of a fine, is therefore extremely distressing. We have been approached by parents who feel suicidal because of the horrendous way that they have been treated due to their child’s barriers to school attendance.

"You are causing entirely unnecessary and avoidable suffering to families of children with SEND. Blaming parents for having a disabled child is unacceptable, as is punishing them for their child’s needs not being met in school, as this is often the underlying cause of school attendance difficulties.”

The group has called on WNC to immediately pause and investigating all current school attendance proceedings, ceasing those where SEND is a factor, and apologising to the families where WNC has ‘got it wrong’.

Issuing no further fines where a child’s difficulties are due to known or possible SEND.

“Again, we are appealing to you, asking you to change your unhelpful blanket approach to one of compassion and support,” the letter ends.

WNC’ response

Chief Executive of WNC, Anna Earnshaw, wrote back saying: “I am sorry that parents within the group feel that the Council has not been understanding in its approach to the absence of children who face barriers to school attendance and that the policies we must comply with are causing difficulties to parents. Our overriding aim as an authority responsible for education, is always that all children get the best start in life and that they do not miss out on education that will support better long-term outcomes. But I acknowledge how challenging it must be for parents already faced with the difficulties of getting their children to school to then be faced with the further challenges from the Council.

"Whilst we do consider individual circumstances, we cannot treat children with SEND differently to children without as that would be discriminatory and illegal.

"Whilst it would not be appropriate or lawful to pause all fines and legal proceedings, we are committed to ensuring that every step is taken to avoid this. The Council and the SASS team are clear that children’s safeguarding, well-being, and education are at the heart of our decision-making processes.

“I am distressed to hear that some families have had a negative experience but cannot comment fully on this without having details of individual cases.”

Councillor Fiona Baker, Cabinet Member for Children Families, Education and Skills at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) added: "In September, WNC implemented a new approach to supportive and inclusive conversations around school attendance in response to parent and carer feedback, and in line with Department for Education guidance. This new approach aids discussions around appropriate support and intervention to better understand barriers and challenges, so that a child’s wellbeing, education and safeguarding is at the forefront of decision making.

“The council is committed to continuing to work with children, young people, parents, carers and professionals to build on this work and continue on the SEND improvement journey.”