An update on SEND provision in Stockport
Navendu Mishra MP at a SEND Reform drop-in in Parliament.
As the Member of Parliament for Stockport I have seen a huge increase in the number of parents contacting me about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. It is the right of every child to have access to a good education. This is the foundation of children being able to reach their full potential as adults. This education should ensure every child is able to learn and thrive in a safe and secure environment.
Sadly, from the discussions I have had with parents here in Stockport, too many families are having to fight at every stage of the process to get their child’s needs met. Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are being delayed for months, as is access to other services including educational psychology, occupation therapy and speech and language support. Lengthy Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting lists also prevent many children from receiving good timely support.
In the recent Spring Budget debates, I raised the crisis of SEND provision. This is the result of fourteen years of deep and damaging cuts to the education budget. You can read my speech from 12 March 2024 here: https://tinyurl.com/3yt6crhk.
I have also asked a number of written parliamentary questions on what steps the government is taking to support the Council and local NHS providers in Stockport to improve the quality of its CAMHS, and provide quicker access to EHCP. You can read my parliamentary questions here:
EHCP question, February 2024: https://tinyurl.com/3juhe9b8,
Follow-up, March 2024: https://tinyurl.com/5xrse7yc,
Request for further funding for EHCP assessments, March 2024: https://tinyurl.com/yy43wacd.
I recently met with the Director of Education, Works and Skills at Stockport Council, and as part of that meeting raised the SEND provision as well as EHCP backlog. I was assured that the local authority recognised the sharp rise in demand for SEND provision and requests for EHCPs and is committed to opening more mainstream resource provisions this year and in the subsequent years in the primary sector. The Director also acknowledged the need for further specialist provision in the borough for children both at primary and secondary school level.
I also remain deeply concerned about larger, sustained pressures on local authority funding over the past fourteen years. It is clear that budget cuts have a real impact in Stockport, leading to significant backlogs and EHCPs being refused, resulting in parents resorting to tribunal. A recent report in the media found that English councils on average refused 26.4% of requests for an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment in 2023, up from 21.6% in 2022 – a rise of more than a fifth.
As always, I will continue to support families and their children, but it is unquestionable that continued budget cuts to both education and local government funding has had a huge impact on educational provision in Stockport. The damage has been done and regrettably much of the Government’s SEND and alternative provision improvement plan will not come into effect until
2025, six years after their review was announced. This has resulted in far too many children with SEND having left secondary school without the appropriate support in place.
The system of SEND support has become broken and is in desperate need of reform. I will continue to press the Government for fairer funding for education and the need to reduce the exhausting battles parents face. The Government needs to work with parents, children, teaching staff and other professionals to get the SEND system right.
Please do get in touch with me if you need any support. I will continue to press both Stockport Council and the Government to provide vital resources.
Email: navendu.mishra.mp@parliament.uk
Phone: 0161 480 0833
