Warning of no early reform of special educational needs in England amid new inquiry
Parents frustrated by the multiple failings of England’s special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system have been warned it is not realistic to expect reform to happen quickly, as MPs announced another inquiry into the crisis.MPs on the cross-party education committee in Westminster say the latest inquiry will seek to find practical solutions rather than just point out problems.The report from the previous one, which went on for 18 months, was published in 2019.Labour MP Helen Hayes, who chairs the latest iteration of the committee, said they were aware this was “probably the deepest crisis” in the whole of the education and children’s services sector.“We know that there has been a great deal of analysis of the issue,” she said.
“What we are hoping to do is to focus on where reform is needed, what good practice could look like and where can we learn lessons.”Tania Tirraoro, the founder and co-director of Special Needs Jungle, which offers information and resources for families affected by Send, expressed frustration at yet another inquiry.“Why don’t they just read what everybody else has said? It’s nothing that’s going to improve things right now – right now is where the problem is.”Speaking before the launch of the inquiry on Friday, Hayes said: “It’s a huge task.If this task was easy to solve, it would not be such a deep crisis.
The situation as it is at the moment is not sustainable, neither is it acceptable.”Asked how long it might take to turn the system around, she said she was optimistic that solutions could be found, but added: “I don’t believe it’s realistic to say transformative change can happen very quickly.”Hayes painted a desperate picture of the state of Send services across the country, with trust between parents and local authorities broken, children out of school and unable to access the support they need, headteachers in tears because they cannot meet children’s needs and MPs’ surgeries full of distraught parents.“There’s such a sense of responsibility that we get this right across the whole of the House of Commons,” said Hayes.“MPs see the consequences of a system that is not working every single day.
“None of us confronted with the reality of these stories of families who are being failed, of children whose childhoods are being spent just fighting all the time for support that should be there for them, can ignore that responsibility.We have to do better.”The committee plans to focus on how to stabilise the system in the short term, and achieve long-term sustainability with improved outcomes for children and young people, looking at every phase of education, from early years to the age of 25.As part of their inquiry they will look at systems to support children with special educational needs in other countries, including Canada where there are higher levels of satisfaction among families, and Scandinavian countries.The committee will also investigate how mainstream schools can be more inclusive of children with Send, including changes to the curriculum and improving support and training for teachers.
They will look at how to increase capacity and, with many councils building up huge deficits because of rising Send costs, the committee will consider reforms to the way Send is funded, and what happens when the statutory override, a fudge which keeps the deficits off local authority books, expires in 2026.MPs will also investigate potential alternatives to education, health and care plans – legally binding documents that detail a child’s additional needs, but “without reducing the level of support available”.“This crisis has many symptoms that bleed into the rest of the education system, from attrition in the teaching workforce to soaring levels of pupil absence,” said Hayes.“There are also symptoms which blight local councils’ budgets – ever increasing spending on transporting pupils to settings far from where they live, and the chaos of money being poured into tribunals that parents are expected to win.It’s widely accepted that many more councils could face effective bankruptcy if change doesn’t come soon.
“There is absolute clarity that as a country we can’t continue with this endless cycle of failure,Turning this ship around will likely take years of careful reform, but the cross-party education committee will play our part by making evidence-based recommendations that the government can implement,”A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are determined to restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the change they are crying out for, and we will work closely with the education select committee to do this,“We are already making progress, with £1bn extra investment in day-to-day services, £740m directed to support local authorities to create more specialist places in mainstream schools and the curriculum and assessment review which will look at barriers that hold children back from the best life chances,”
Bill Beaumont appointed interim RFU chairman as civil war breaks out
Sir Bill Beaumont has been appointed as the interim chairman of the Rugby Football Union after Tom Ilube stepped down, sparking a civil war within the organisation amid accusations of “bullying, entitlement and elitism” between RFU council factions.On another dramatic day at the RFU, Ilube’s departure comes after an extraordinary emergency council meeting on Wednesday with some members accusing others of behaving like “a mob”.The announcement of Ilube’s departure came with a statement that he would “stay on to ensure a smooth transition to a new chair as soon as one is in place” but that was met with anger by the council rebels who questioned why he was not leaving immediately. It is understood there will be a brief handover period to Beaumont.On Friday a group of council members sent a furious letter to their colleagues
England must accept the need for ruthlessness alongside entertainment | Mark Ramprakash
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Record losses and bumper bonuses – the pay row tearing apart English rugby
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The Wallpark bids to continue Irish jumps domination in the Long Walk
Only four of Britain’s 38 Grade One events over jumps have yet to be won by a horse trained in Ireland, and the list could be down to three after the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday, when four of the 10-strong field, including Gordon Elliott’s progressive six-year-old, The Wallpark (2.25), will be running for Irish stables.The Wallpark has had an unconventional preparation for Saturday’s race with one race a month from May to October, when he was an impressive winner under 11st 7lb in a handicap at Cheltenham’s first meeting of the winter campaign.That was The Wallpark’s first run over three miles and marked a career-best with the clear possibility of better still to come, not least as the quirks he showed earlier in his career for Elliott now seem to be on the wane.Strong Leader, the winner of Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle in November, is the top-rated runner in the field and is the obvious leader of the home team, while Crambo, last year’s winner, is also in the field, though he has not been out since finishing down the field behind Strong Leader in the Grade One Liverpool Hurdle in April
NFL playoff race: Lamar Jackson and Ravens out to snap Pittsburgh hoodoo
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) v Baltimore Ravens (9-5)The battle for the AFC North nears its climax with two bitter rivals gutting it out for hallowed home-field advantage in the playoffs. If the Pittsburgh Steelers continue their hot streak and earn a fifth successive win in Baltimore then the division is theirs while the Ravens can clinch a playoff spot with victory and see a path to the top of the class if Mike Tomlin’s team fall to the Chiefs or Bengals to close out the season.Both teams will feel they have an edge on the other as the Ravens have flattered to deceive at times (see: defeats to Raiders and Browns), while the Steelers have struggled to move the ball without George Pickens. John Harbaugh’s team boasts a total offense that rivals Buffalo and Detroit in efficiency and explosiveness. The incredible tandem of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry can tie even the best defense in knots on their day
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