SEND is broken and parents don't trust us – we will open 33 schools, government says
THOUSANDS of extra SEND places will be available for disabled children, thanks to The Sun's Give It Back campaign.
According to the Ministry of Education, 33 special free schools will be built in an unspecified timeline Report Right support, right time, right place Today.
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Health Secretary Steve Barclay admitted in a joint statement that families are “frustrated” by the current system.
It said: “We know that some families feel frustrated with the system and feel they have to struggle to access specialist education, health or care services, including mental health services.
“We know that providers and services are faced with delivery pressure.
“It is time to offer children and young people a more dignified experience of SEND and to restore families' confidence in the system.”
In response to last year's SEND review, the plan recognized that there had been a loss of trust and that the system needed to be “less hostile” to the parents or carers of disabled children.
Sam Carlisle is the mother of 21-year-old Elvi, who has complex needs. According to him, the government's admission of the system is a step forward.
Sam, from Wimbledon, South London, said: “I'm grateful they've acknowledged the fight.
“I can't express how life-changing it is to have a child with special educational needs.
“It is not the disability of your child, but the lack of support you receive.
“The doors are being slammed in your face – these are legal requirements from local authorities, from health authorities, from government and you just have to fight for everything.
Because Elvi is not yet 25, she is still on the government's SEND provision and requires speech and language therapy to help her achieve her potential.
Sam believes the DfE plan focuses on younger children – and less on older children.
Sam added: “What they have proposed will help younger people; we have young kids coming, which is great.
For older children – teenagers and young people of Elvi's age – it feels like 'too little too late'.”
Special free schools and alternative provision will meet national standards but still be provided locally.
The Department for Education plans to consult with parents and test regional partners on the national standard this year – with full guidance due to be published by 2025.
The government has also committed to funding 5,000 early years practitioners to gain a SENCo qualification, and 400 educational psychologists.
The plan comes after The Sun highlighted how three-quarters of parents of disabled children have had to leave work while trying to plug gaps in services.
Last year, former children's minister Will Quince admitted that disabled children have been abandoned.
Sun's Give It Back campaign and the Disabled Children's Partnership have been asking the government to restore funding since 2019.
In 2021, the funding gap in social care and support increased from £434 million to £573 million.