Since my election to Westminster last year, I have heard numerous stories through conversations and casework about the almost complete breakdown of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision for families in Amber Valley. Last week in Parliament, last week I led a debate in Parliament in which Labour MPs from across Derbyshire came together to share these stories and seek justice for their constituents.
SEND provision has been allowed to fall into a state of measured decline throughout the UK and fixing it is one of the biggest challenges we face as a government. We’ve inherited a broken system throughout the UK, but here in Derbyshire, we’ve inherited a crisis.
It came as no surprise to read Ofsted’s damning report into Derbyshire County Council’s SEND provision last November. A report cited “widespread and systemic failings”. I recognised the failings they described from the stories I’d heard from dozens of parents, carers and educators.
Again and again, I’ve heard about countless delays; inaccurate assessments and inadequate care plans; under-funded and insufficient support in schools; barriers at every turn; and little to no communication. Derbyshire’s children with SEND are being failed at every step of the process.
The true scale of this problem became apparent when I invited parents and carers fighting for SEND support to a meeting. What had been planned as an intimate round table event eventually became more like a town hall meeting, with so many who wanted to share their experiences.
I have heard some truly heartbreaking stories about families pushed to the brink. The fight for SEND support is taking a considerable financial toll on many families. Some parents told me that they could not work due to caring for children who should be in school, some said that they were self-financing diagnoses and, in some cases, parents have resorted to legal action to get the support they are entitled to.
Worst still was hearing about the impact on the physical and mental health of the children affected and their families. Parents told me that they were made to feel like failures and told that their children were simply disruptive. Children, some as young as 12, said that they no longer want to live.
This is what a crisis looks like.
The debate last week only confirmed in my mind that this is a widespread problem, affecting hundreds of families throughout Derbyshire.
Having lost all faith in Derbyshire County Council, parents, carers and headteachers have reached out to their MPs. Hoping that, through us, they will finally have their voices heard.
They all talk about how hard they have been fighting; as their MPs, we owe it to them to fight just as hard on their behalf.
Together, we have met with Derbyshire County Council, holding them accountable for their many failings and insisting upon timely improvements.
In a debate on 23rd April 2024, Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, highlighted the shocking revelation that Derbyshire County Council has left £16 million in SEND funding unspent. Meanwhile, over £500,000 was spent on consultants for “strategic help”, with no apparent improvement in services.
The Adjournment debate that took place this February was a great opportunity to speak directly to Minister of State for Education, Catherine McKinnell, to share some of my constituents’ stories and to lay bare the “widespread and systemic failings” reported by Ofsted.
Most importantly, the stories we told in this debate highlighted the very real and lasting impact these failings are having on families and educators.
This debate is just one step in our fight to fix this broken system.
We welcome the Department for Education’s recent improvement notice to the Council as a step in the right direction, but given the history of unfulfilled plans, scepticism is understandable. This time must be different.
By working together, Derbyshire MPs will keep the pressure on Derbyshire County Council. We will push for them to deliver on their promises of improvement, with the urgency that the situation demands.
Derbyshire County Council’s SEND failings are having a devastating impact on families, this has got to change
