SEND Improvement Plan
I recently met with the children’s minister to discuss the new SEND improvement plan before it was published. One of the things I’ve been calling for has been for regular teachers to have a better working knowledge of all types of neurodiverse conditions.
I am pleased that the plan pledges to review teacher training to try and ensure this is a case. I will monitor this closely to make sure it makes the changes needed. It’s not just about extra specialists. All regular teachers need to have a better understanding of all conditions. Many young people with learning disabilities will be in mainstream settings and this is vital for them. I know what’s it’s like to be neurodiverse at a mainstream school and have teachers who don’t get you.
It is also key that parents aren’t always left battling to get their child diagnosed. Many end up going privately and paying. This needs to be addressed.
We need a national campaign to make clear all employers are fully aware of the benefits that come with hiring those who are neurodiverse. This isn’t about “virtue signalling” or simply acting in a moral way. They are amongst the most creative and unconventional thinkers out there!
The reality is its all taken too long to get to this point. The SEND review was commissioned many years ago. Even making allowances for the pandemic etc this plan should have been published a long time ago and we should not be at the point where what it’s calling for is being delivered on the ground.
I welcome the fact that Suffolk will be getting a new special school. Ipswich has had two new special schools over the past few years and another one in Suffolk is good news for many families no doubt. It will be a free school giving it extra freedoms and flexibility, something which is important when it comes to SEND provision. I was at the New Skill Centre school in southeast Ipswich recently, they’re similar to a free school and this has certainly been a benefit to them. I was really impressed by what I saw.
The Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho visited the Sir Bobby Robson not long ago and I was pleased that the teaching staff at the school and pupils were able to make their views clear about the different ways in which SEND provision can be improved.
There’re some sensible proposals in the plan. More emphasis on early years and early intervention which will be made easier by more early years specialists (5,000 are being funded). More education psychologists are good but there is a question about whether 400 is enough.
I continue to believe though that more needs to be done to ensure that regular teachers (non-specialists) have a firmer grounding in all different types of neurodiversity. Many young people with learning disabilities will be in mainstream schools and its important their needs and thinking processes are fully understood. I need more reassurances on this.
I would personally like to have seen more emphasis on diagnosis for various learning disabilities. I know there is a reluctance from some to label, but some people really are neurodiverse and have specific needs and its important they, their families, and their teachers know what they’re. A number of my constituents have really had to fight to get a diagnosis for their child and have often had to fund one privately. I need more reassurances on this by the Government.
New national standards will also make clear to parents, schools, local authorities, and other providers what support should be offered at every stage of a child’s journey across education, health and care.
The plan will improve parents’ and carers’ experiences of accessing support, with a digital-first process for obtaining Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) where they are needed.
The Government have upped the additional ‘high needs’ budget to over £10 billion, which is an increase of more than 50 per cent since 2019. However, we need more. You won’t always see me simply calling for more and more resources but SEND provision is an area more investment continues to be needed. It’s also the case that Suffolk SEND provision in particular is underfunded compared to other areas.
It’s important that improvements are made at both the local and national level to SEND provision, so I welcome much of what was announced. I acknowledge the new SEND special school places that have come to Ipswich over the past few years and all the specialist units in mainstream schools. There have been some improvements. But we have a long way to go locally and nationally in so many ways.
Something good that happens in 2019 was the change that means a school can’t be rated outstanding or good if SEND provision isn’t good also. This is perfectly logical and an incentive to prioritise SEND provision in mainstream schools.
I’m neurodiverse. I had a reading and writing age of an 8-year-old when I was 12. I couldn’t do my shoelaces until I was 14. I was lucky to get diagnosed fairly early and then eventually got the support I needed. It pains me this isn’t the case for many young neurodiverse children in Ipswich. I will always keep fighting for them and others nationally who have the same needs.
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