The Labour government is proposing to change the education system for families of children and families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including mental health and neurodivergent conditions such as Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia.
The main difference will be taking away the legal right of families to go to a tribunal to get the provision and support that their child/young person needs.
The government is proposing to place all but those students with “severe complex needs” in mainstream schools in regular classrooms and ‘inclusion hubs’.
I am a member of a campaign group called ‘Save Our Children’s Rights’. We agree that the system needs changing, it is not working for anyone at the moment, least of all the young people with SEND, who should be prioritised.
But we feel that the motivation of the government is to save money, not to meet children’s individual needs. The money that is being promised to local authorities and schools will not cover the extra expenses incurred by having classes of 30+ children with 6-9 children with some kind of additional need that will need extra support.
Teaching unions have raised concerns that the government has not provided enough staff or specific per-class allocations to properly support inclusion. Teachers have highlighted insufficient staff and workload were already high barriers to inclusion in schools.
This is not only an issue for families with children and young people with SEND, it will also affect any children in class as there will be less time available to spend with those that still might need some support or direction. Teachers will be too busy supporting the ones that need individual support.
We are trying to get 100,000 signatures on our petition, which has been written by TeeJay, a 15 year old autistic young person. This will hopefully trigger a debate in Parliament, as children, parents and school staff’s views are not being listened to and acted on at the moment.
Please could you sign and share the petition, anyone with an email address can sign it.
We have until 14 October to get enough signatures, we have 84,000 at the last count.
In the fight for a socialist society, education and support for all is critical, none more than children and young people who are the future changemakers.
Christina Cramsie
Sign at: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/764268
