SEND

Labour: SEND challenge ‘enormous’ but plan will come post-election

Party needs 'much fuller understanding' of 'how chaotic the system has become and what needs to change'

Party needs 'much fuller understanding' of 'how chaotic the system has become and what needs to change'

Labour will wait until after the election to set out its full plans to tackle the “enormous” challenge facing the SEND system, Bridget Phllipson has said.

The shadow education secretary told journalists at the ASCL school leaders’ union conference that she was “not prepared” to make families promises she could not keep as she was pressed repeatedly on the party’s lack of a plan for the sector.

Labour has said little on SEND, and is keeping quiet about its plans for all aspects of education funding, around which many of the issues facing the sector revolve.

Phillipson said the “challenge on SEND is enormous” and admitted it would “take us time to turn that around” if Labour forms the next government. She promised an “early focus on reforming the system”, and early intervention in children’s lives.

“Far too many of the problems that we’re seeing at the moment are coming about because of long waiting lists, a lack of early intervention or lack of early help, and it’s about those services that sit around families, as well as the support that we need to see within our schools.

“But I’m in no doubt as to the scale of the challenge. And we will need to get a much fuller understanding from government if we win the election as to the full extent of just how chaotic the system has become and what needs to change.”

’14 years of failed reform’

She said providing support earlier to pupils with less complex needs would “free up” specialist provision for those who need “ongoing support”.

The government is in the process of reforming the SEND system. It published an implementation plan last year, but changes are due to take several years to be enacted. Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, acknowledged last year the system was “lose, lose, lose” for families.

Phillipson described 14 years of “failed reform that has left us in a position where children and families are the losers in all of this, where schools are really struggling to meet the demands that they place upon them”.

She said there was a need to “do more” to support school staff with training and development to help a “more diverse range of need” in mainstream schools.

‘Failed promises’

Pressed further, she said she was “only prepared to make commitments I’m absolutely confident that I can keep, and as I was saying in my speech, promises that I know I can deliver”.

“The families of children with SEND have had enough of failed promises and enough of support that’s never materialised. They face far too adversarial a system, and the change that will be required in terms of the landscape overall, in our school system around SEND is serious, it is necessary, but it has to be right.

“I think families of children with SEND have had enough of a system that isn’t delivering but have had enough of promises from politicians that just hadn’t been kept and I’m not prepared to do that.”

Labour ‘understands’ need for funding certainty

Phillipson was also pressed by Schools Week about funding. The party has said it will wait to see the state of the nation’s finances after the next election before making any commitments.

But schools have also raised serious concerns about the timing of school funding decisions. Teacher pay decisions are usually made right at the end of summer term, after budgets have been set.

And the government has said the next spending review will take place after the next election, meaning schools won’t know about their funding levels from next March until much later in the year.

Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves

Phillipson said Labour would face a “really difficult set of public finances, a really tough fiscal inheritance” if it wins, “so we would need to take a view as to where we are”.

But she said she and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves “understand the arguments” about predictability of funding.

“Overall, not simply where we talk about funding, we do need a longer-term approach in terms of the shift that we need to see, that’s why Keir Starmer has talked about a decade of national renewal.

“Some of the changes that we will need to deliver if we win will require a longer term view, also around how we prevent problems becoming more acute, how we make sure we’ve got earlier support for children and families.”

More from this theme

SEND

SEND: DfE ‘looking into’ how many schools are not inclusive

Children's minister David Johnston reveals he is probing why some schools have far fewer pupils with EHCPs

Samantha Booth
SEND

Revealed: Locations of 16 new special schools and trusts to run 7 more

It follows the announcement of £105m capital cash at the spring budget

Freddie Whittaker
SEND

SEND: Some safety valve councils have ‘removed’ deficits – DfE boss

Permanent secretary says government is 'seeing some really good progress from councils'

Freddie Whittaker
SEND

One of first safety valve councils slammed over ‘failing’ SEND services

Damning inspection calls into question again whether controversial bailout scheme is working

Samantha Booth
SEND

Meet the trusts pioneering state-run private special schools

Plans follow revelation of private equity-backed firms making millions from running such schools

Samantha Booth
SEND

SEND reforms pilot already nine months behind schedule

Some changes have gone down like 'cold sick', while others are more popular, consortium member reports

Samantha Booth

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One comment

  1. Lee Robb

    This isn’t good enough. Children are the future of our society that we have created and born them into. How am I expected to vote at election if I don’t know what the proposed plan is. This is not acceptable. The first part of the plan needs to deal with the fact children’s relevant Equality and Human Rights that have been integrated into the Children’s and Familes Act 2014 need Central Government and Local Authorities to comply with. This starts with Educational Health Care assessments by Integrated Education and Health Care Boards NHS and Local Authorities Educational Psychologists as a right. Just as an Adult attending a work place whom may be struggling at work has a right to go to a GP and be assessed by the relevant NHS or Local Authority Services. When we give Children supported by parents and SENCO’s the same rights as adults, this is then a good start. As I say extremely disappointed and the Conservative Budget announcement which doesn’t even consider the the needs of Educational integrated Health Care Boards. They need Peadatricians, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Children’s Mental Health Therapists, Low Sensory Environments and Educational Psychologists