CAMPAIGNERS remain ‘concerned’ after a plan to tackle what they describe as a ‘crisis’ in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Warwickshire was published.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) has published a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) to address concerns raised in last September’s damning Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.
The report raised ‘concerns about the effectiveness of the local area’, requiring the council and Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to explain how ‘significant areas of weakness’ will be tackled.
The statement explains how WCC and the CCG plan to reduce waiting times for autism diagnoses, strengthen relationships with parents and carers, improve school leaders’ understanding of why the placement of some children needs to be addressed, better train primary and secondary school staff to meet the needs of youngsters with SEND, and ensure the quality of the online local offer is fit for purpose.
A spokesperson for lobby group SEND Crisis Warwickshire welcomed the WSoA – but said some concerns remained.
They said: “The WSoA continues to skew the complexities of the difficulties experienced by children and young people in Warwickshire.
“There is a danger that blaming our already overstretched schools will lead to a weaponisation of inclusion, leaving vulnerable learners without support or appropriate provision.
“We are committed to supporting the overview and scrutiny of this programme to ensure improved outcomes for all children and young people struggling to be seen or heard. We continue to work with marginalised families, and will campaign on behalf of all Warwickshire’s children and families.”
The WSoA, which was produced in conjunction with Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice, has been approved by Ofsted and the CQC.
WCC’s SEND spokeswoman Coun Penny-Anne O’Donnell said: “Senior WCC and CCG leaders have been working with services and stakeholders to understand the actions we need to take to make improvements. These include working with parents and carers, staff, the SEND and Inclusion Partnership, and schools and settings.
“Progress on all actions within the plan will be regularly reviewed through our WSoA Steering Group, the Department for Education and NHS England.”
Elaine Lambe from Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice said: “The WSoA is a positive start. Now the hard work needs to continue with all partners working together to make the vision a reality. We look forward to the increased co-production with parent carers across health, education and social care.”
When the Ofsted report was published in September, ‘gravely concerned’ families said it didn’t ‘skim the surface’ of the ‘trauma’ they had experienced.
A SEND Crisis Warwickshire spokesperson said: “We have supported families with suicidal children that still have no support, families whose children have been given inappropriate school placements that don’t meet their needs, and families whose children have been left without appropriate education for years.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/2z85twr9 to read the Written Statement of Action.
