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18
Aug 2024
SEND in crisis: Mum 'worried for daughter's future' calls for reform
This is the first of two articles highlighting the crisis in school provision for children with special educational needs in the Harrogate district. The second one will be published tomorrow.
A Harrogate mum has called for a radical overhaul of the school system for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Emily Mitchell, whose five-year-old daughter Elsie is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with autism, spoke of the severe strains within the system, which suffers from a chronic lack of specialist school places.
She said:
I think a complete 360 [degree turn] is the only thing that will make sufficient difference. At the moment, the system is understaffed, underfunded and under pressure.
I am so worried about my daughter's future. I dread what is going to happen for her if things don't change – never mind the hundreds of thousands of children that are in the same situation.
Last November, North Yorkshire Council revealed that it already has a £13m annual deficit for SEND places, and that it faces an annual “black hole” of up to £100 million within four years due to spiralling demand for SEND support services for SEND.
Since 2015, there has been a 156% increase in provision of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) – legal documents that set out the tailored support a child needs – and there is a growing backlog of cases waiting to be assessed.
Around 10,000 pupils in North Yorkshire schools are currently receive SEND support.
The funding for many SEND services comes from a ring-fenced Department for Education grant, but the increase in demand is draining the council’s general budget. For example, the annual costs of home-to-school transport for SEND children soared from £5m to £21m in just five years.
Currently, the Harrogate district has several special needs schools, including Springwater School in Starbeck, which accepts children aged 2-18; The Forest School in Knaresborough (3-16), and Mowbray School in Ripon (3-16).
Ms Mitchell, who with friend Ashlie Charleton set up SENkind, a group that provides advice and support for other parents of children with special educational needs, said:
I had Elsie’s EHCP sent to Forest School in Knaresborough, but they came back saying, ‘No, we can't meet this child's needs’.
Then I had the two other specialist schools – Springwater and Mowbray in Ripon – tell me that they can meet need, but there's no space. So what are you meant to do?
The Forest School in Knaresborough.
A new SEND school specialising in autism is planned for the site of the now-closed Woodfield Community Primary School in Bilton, but its 80 places will be for pupils aged 11-19, so will make no difference to primary-level provision.
It was supposed to open next month (September), but has been delayed for unspecified reasons and is now due to open in 2025.
Ms Mitchell said:
I think the new school will help the other specialist schools in the area and lighten their load, but it's been delayed. Why? This is so urgent – it's so needed.
So acute is the crisis in SEND provision that all three of the main political parties went some way towards addressing it prior to the general election.
Former Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones told the Stray Ferret it would be one of his priorities if elected, and Labour’s manifesto said:
Too often our education and care systems do not meet the needs of all children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
It promised a "community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs”.
The Liberal Democrats – whose leader Ed Davey has a son with special educational needs – called for a new national body for SEND that would pay any support costs above a certain threshold, in an effort to end national disparities in the provision of EHCPs.
By law, EHCPs must be issued within 20 weeks of a request for assessment, but in 2022 only 49% of children received their plans within the 20-week limit.
Tom Gordon MP
Tom Gordon, Lib Dem MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:
The Liberal Democrats and I believe that every child, no matter their background, can achieve great things. That includes SEND children. We need urgent action to ensure that all pupils can access the tailored support that they need.
As the new MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, I am arranging meetings with the local schools about the issues they face, including SEND. I will also be meeting with Richard Flinton and Cllr Carl Les, chief executive and leader of North Yorkshire Council respectively, in the coming weeks, and this is one of the issues that will be discussed.
My team and I have already had a number of heartbreaking emails about SEND issues and we are trying to fix a number of these asap. If you are affected by insufficient funding or support, please do get in touch.
Ms Mitchell said she would keep a watch for progress on the issue, but would only believe it when she saw it. She said:
I truly don't know if anything is going to happen. I’ve been going through this process for a year now, and during that time, it's just got 10 times worse.
What's it going to be like in another 10 years if things don't change? I dread to think.
Chris, Emily and Elsie Mitchell.
In the meantime, Ms Mitchell, her husband Chris, and Elsie are left to navigate a system that appears to put some of the children with the greatest need last.
She said:
I have friends who have neurotypical children, and it seems so plain sailing. They get excited about what school uniform they're going to buy and what school they're going to put their children into, but for me there was just this dark cloud hanging there.
Elsie is my first child. I thought it was going to be such an exciting experience for me as a parent to see my child going to school for the first time, but it was just negativity: ‘No, we can’t meet your child’s needs’.
Our children deserve so much better. Their lives are challenging enough as it is.
People expect them just to fit into a neurotypical world or a neurotypical school, and they're just setting these children up to fail. It's just not fair.
Tomorrow, we'll hear from another Harrogate mum, Kate Maple, about the difficulties she encountered trying to get a place in a special needs school for her son.
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