David Smith MP: Working hard to create a lasting SEND solution
Early morning starts, long hours, attention to detail, high stakes and endless arguing about who said what, and what’s been promised or not promised.
Am I talking about the average day of a New York Divorce Lawyer?
No, I’m talking about the exhausting reality for families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) trying to get a decent education for their children.
Making sure every child has the best start in life has been one of my top priorities since I became your MP. That’s why I launched a comprehensive SEND survey over the summer and have continued to meet with local schools about how things are going in the classroom.
To best serve the people of North Northumberland, I first wanted to understand much more about their views and experiences. Reading the responses was damning.
I was most struck by the huge waste of everyone’s time and energy. The system is deeply broken, and people have spent years fighting for crumbs. One parent told me their child had a breakdown before their needs were taken seriously.
Labour is the only party that will change this broken system and create a lasting SEND settlement between parents, teachers, and local authorities. The Conservative Party watched the SEND crisis destroy families and were unwilling or unable to fix it. Reform believes that children who need support are just badly behaved.
But ours is a ‘support-first’ approach, and I’m proud that my survey findings will feed into those of Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education. We are taking the voice and views of North Northumberland straight to Westminster.
This is not about bashing teachers. Many are so overstretched they simply cannot juggle the requirements of multiple Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in one class. Small wonder that only 6% of respondents described their child’s EHCP as ‘very positive’.
Proper support for children with ADHD or autism is not happening in most cases, and these huge issues with SEND have forced 25% of parents and carers responding to the survey to homeschool.
But amongst the responses I can also see real vision and hope. One parent wrote: “The schools need more support, training and knowledge. Our children can and do flourish when in the right environment and society benefits from their superpowers.”
With thoughtful changes, we can offer dignity and respect to all our families, to all our children. The right foundation can bring us back to taking pride in the way we look after each other and look out for each other. Our education system is the perfect place to celebrate and uphold those values.