Suffolk County Council "failing Suffolk children"
Neighbouring Liberal Democrat MP Pippa Heylings is fighting for fairer funding for children with special educational needs while Suffolk parents struggle against the Conservative County Council to be heard.
Damning Ofsted report describes “widespread, systemic failings” in Suffolk’s Special Education and Disability provision.
£1.7 million has been wasted on consultants since for minimal improvement.
Provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) is a growing concern across the country. Understanding about SEND has come a long way in recent years, and there is a genuine need for these services which successive Conservative administrations have failed to provide. Three councillors, including Newmarket’s own Rachel Hood, were forced to resign from their cabinet posts following a damning Ofsted report into SEND provision in Suffolk.
In Suffolk, only 40% of Educational, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) are processed within the required 20-week limit. Without one, children with special educational requirements can’t get the support or alternative provision they need.
In one particular case, a young girl with autism missed over 18 months of school after Suffolk CC failed to provide her with alternative education despite numerous requests from her mother, and took over 3 times longer than the 20-week limit to provide her with an EHCP.
That’s over a year where she could have received the education she needed, made lifelong friends, or found her future career.
Imagine if that was your child or a member of your family.
Since the report, the Council has wasted another £1.7 million on consulatants, while parents have felt minimal changes on the ground, yet more money wasted.
While the Conservatives have been floundering, the Liberal Democrats have been taking the issue to the government. Liberal Democrat MP for South Cambridgeshire, Pippa Heylings, led the debate of fairer funding for SEND in Parliament - amazing proof of what having a Liberal Democrat representative can do!
Local Liberal Democrat campaigner and former teacher, Jonny Edge, said:
“Too much taxpayer’s money is being spent on appeals rather than finding ways to tackle the practical problems on the ground. That’s where we feel the money and focus needs to be. We should be working with local schools to make sure they are best equipped to innovatively provide the best provision possible for these and all children and young people. Good provision must not be a postcode lottery.”