Last week I visited Sunnyfields Primary School, which highlighted both the brilliant work of our local educators and the challenges the system faces.
The staff are doing something remarkable. With a large group of children on the SEND register, they have gone above and beyond to create additional provision using the school hall and a sensory room. I was extremely impressed by the dedication and professionalism of all the staff.
However, the number of children arriving with complex needs is growing year on year. Ask any parent navigating the SEND system and they’ll tell you it’s broken. There aren’t enough specialist places locally, staff are being stretched to their limits, and it’s not sustainable.
We inherited a SEND system from the Tories that has totally lost the confidence of families. This Labour government is committed to restoring that confidence – restructuring the Department for Education to put SEND at its heart, and investing billions into high needs support, specialist places, and council budgets across England.
All children deserve the right support, their teachers deserve proper resources, and schools like Sunnyfields deserve a system that works with them.
Following the visit, I’ve now written to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to raise the specific challenges Sunnyfields shared with me, and I’ll keep working with government and schools in my constituency until they get the support they need.