, Labour’s Shadow
Education Secretary, responding to the Education
Committee’s calls for special educational needs reforms, said:
“This devastating report exposes a system on the verge of
breakdown. Even a senior Conservative MP is now warning that
parents have been ‘let down’ and left ‘in despair’ without the
support they and their children need.
“It is the latest evidence that the most vulnerable children are
paying the highest price for this government’s cuts.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
- · A report
released by the Education Committee today (Wednesday) recommends
a series of measures to strengthen inspections, support parents
going through the Education Health and Care
Plan (EHCP) process and ensure those responsible for
SEND provision are held accountable when things go wrong.
Recommendations include:
o A more rigorous inspection
framework for local authorities, with clear
consequences for failure. There should be a greater focus on SEND
in school inspections.
o A direct line for parents and
schools to appeal directly to the Department for
Education where local authorities appear not to be complying with
the law.
o Powers for the Local Government and
Social Care Ombudsman to investigate complaints about
schools.
o The development of more employment and
training opportunities for post-16 young people
- · The
Committee concludes that while the reforms to the support
for children and young people contained in the Children and
Families Act 2014 were the right ones, poor implementation
has put local authorities under pressure, left schools
struggling to cope and, ultimately, thrown families
into crisis.
