Supporting children with special educational needs
Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 09:33, Fri 1 February 2013:
My colleague Angela Smith MP called a debate in parliament this week on support for children with special educational needs. You can read a transcript of the debate here http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2013-01-30a.315.0&s=speaker%3A24896#g316.0
This is a huge issue for parents in Trafford. Again and again I hear reports of families left without the services they need, parents fighting to get a statement of special needs, and worries about the future as children’s needs change as they grow older.
Recently, Trafford Council’s been consulting on its SEN provision. The government’s also due to bring forward new legislation to improve the “local offer” to families with disabled children.
To be fair, there is much to welcome both in Trafford’s proposals and in the government’s thinking, but of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating. If services aren’t actually available for families, then promises of support won’t mean a thing.
Where it’s possible for children with disabilities to be educated in mainstream school settings, I am all in favour. For some children, of course, that won’t be appropriate, but for many children, with the right support and adaptations, they can thrive in mainstream schools.
But it’s vitally important that disabled children are in the right school environment. I’d be very worried if there is less access to specialist provision in future for those children for whom it’s needed.
Some of our mainstream schools offer good support, but some parents, particularly of secondary school children, report that their children’s needs are not well met. In a large and busy secondary school, some children may feel overwhelmed.
In Trafford, there have also been concerns about home to school transport for disabled children. Increasingly, children are expected to make their own way to school rather than rely on dedicated school transport.
It’s good to help children with disabilities to be independent, of course, but the cost of safe and reliable transport can be high. I specifically raised this issue in the debate this week, and I know Trafford council have been holding more discussions about it with parents.
Parents have also been worried about what will happen when their child leaves school. At that point, any support they’ve relied on can come abruptly to an end. I’m really pleased that the government has now decided to extend a single system of support for young people right through to age 25.
I also think it’s important that children and young people themselves are closely involved in designing the local support. The government says this will be at the heart of the way the new local offer develops. I want to know how Trafford plans to do that.
I don’t want to see any child falling out of the system when they need support. But when money is tight and services are being streamlined, I worry that the local offer will be limited by resource constraints.
The Minister said in the debate this week that the local offer should be a framework which should be used to drive up standards, and that’s what I want in Trafford. We must have the resources to deliver it.
Kate Green
Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston
Shadow Minister for Equalities
tel: 0161 749 9120 (constituency); 020 7219 7162 (Westminster)
www.kategreen.org
@KateGreenSU
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