A Poole MP has been working with parents of children with special educational needs (SEND) ahead of the White Paper for schools releasing next month.
The delayed paper will outline the policy for how schools are expected to deliver provisions for SEND pupils and their Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC).
Neil Duncan Jordan, MP for Poole, said that local governments are uncertain about the specific details that will be included in the bill.
Working with parents who have expressed concern about current SEND policies, Neil has addressed these fears to the Prime Minister in Parliament.
Mr. Jordan handed a petition to Westminster earlier this week, signed by 130,000 people calling for better support for children with learning difficulties.
Addressing the concerns posed through the petition has ranked among the main priorities for the upcoming White Paper.
He said: “What I’ve tried to express is the fears that parents have about what they think might be in it because they’ve heard rumours or leaks to the press or whatever.
“If the reform of the SEND system ends up improving things for parents, children and the government, then that’s a win win for everybody. If it’s just seen as a way of cutting costs and children and their families are left high and dry, then that will be a complete betrayal of those families, and be extremely negative.”
“It’s important that local parents who have SEND children feel they’ve got a voice. Often they feel overlooked, often they feel marginalized, often they feel like no one is listening to them. My role is to give them the voice.”
Parents have petitioned for change through the F40 campaign, a collaboration between 43 local authorities who want greater resources for young SEND pupils.
Many councils are estimated to have a SEND deficit of up to £6 million, and F40 have argued that there is a postcode lottery around which areas receive SEND provision and not.
Confusion and uncertainty over what the White Paper will bring stretches out to general government policy on SEND, according to Natasha Wakeling from the charity Flourish With Neurodiversity.
She said: “Support should be integrated, personalised, and neurodiversity-informed, rather than forcing people to navigate different systems for every diagnosis.
“Employers need support to move beyond putting people into rigid boxes and instead learn how to utilise neurodivergent strengths, different thinking styles, and varied ways of working.
Labour have received criticism from rival parties like Reform and the Liberal Democrats over the confusion around these policies. BUzz reached out to representatives from both parties, but they are yet to comment.
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