James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con):...We must also give our
teachers better training in identifying special needs and
processing the education, health and care plans. I know of many
families who are simply swept under the carpet, waiting for years
for someone to take them seriously and for the EHCP to be
authorised. This cannot be a golden ticket for the lucky few, but a
rightful passport for every child to get what they need. Please,
let’s speed up the EHCP process and hold headteachers...Request free trial
(Bracknell) (Con):...We must also give our
teachers better training in identifying special needs and
processing the education, health and care plans. I know of many
families who are simply swept under the carpet, waiting for years
for someone to take them seriously and for the EHCP to be
authorised. This cannot be a golden ticket for the lucky few, but a
rightful passport for every child to get what they need. Please,
let’s speed up the EHCP process and hold headteachers and councils
to account. And please don’t get me started on local councils that
fail to acknowledge hidden disabilities or autism
in applications for blue badges—a whole different issue.
Lastly, our child and adolescent mental health services across the
UK need 20,000 volts put straight through them. For families to be
waiting up to two and a half years for a consultation, it is not
only immoral, it is also, frankly, inept. The irony will not have
escaped anybody that a GP cannot prescribe medication for
autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, Asperger’s or any other mental health
condition without a diagnosis from CAMHS. Therein lies a vicious
circle: children desperate to escape their symptoms, parents and
teachers desperate for solace, GPs unable to prescribe without a
diagnosis and CAMHS unable to see these children, in some cases,
for up to two and a half years. It is a national disgrace, but we
can now solve it...
(Coventry South) (Lab):...Things have got even
worse for oppressed groups. Nearly three in four children with
autism have a mental health condition, but in
Coventry waiting times for autism assessments have
been growing, and were doing so even before the pandemic.
Working-class and LGBT+ young people, and children from black,
Asian and minority ethnic communities all have greater rates of
mental ill- health. What makes this not just a crisis but a scandal
is the totally inadequate support for children and young people’s
mental health...
(Blaydon) (Lab):...There are also clear
inequalities when it comes to children and young people’s mental
health, with higher rates of mental health problems among young
women than young men, and among LGBTQ+ young people, young people
with autism and young carers. There are also clear
links between mental health and race, and between mental health and
financial insecurity. Experiencing mental health difficulties in
childhood or adolescence can have a significant impact across the
life course, and can affect young people’s educational outcomes,
earnings, employment and ability to maintain relationships, as well
as increase their likelihood of engaging in risk- seeking
behaviour...
(North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP):...That fund
resources educational psychologists, home school link workers and
mental health counsellors. In addition, the investment in raising
attainment and supporting the wellbeing of pupils is complemented
by a £20 million summer programme, alongside a range of other
investments in youth work, outdoor learning and education in
Scotland, to support schools with the resources they need to
strengthen mental health support. The Scottish Government’s £262.2
million budget for mental health and autism in
2021-22 is over and above the NHS spending, and more than double
the previous year. Suicide prevention spending has also been
doubled...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
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