Notes from the North: SEND crisis comes to County Hall's front door
All the highlights from our exclusive reporting as part of The Lead North.
A very visual reminder of the SEND crisis was given by heartbroken parents in Lancashire and Sefton this week.
More than 80 councils in England Scotland saw families gather for SEND Sanctuary UK’s ‘Every Pair Tells a Story’ campaign, which saw pairs of shoes left to display children failed by the education system.
That was the focus of the midweek editions this week.
Big national news so often starts with good local journalism, and there are two examples this week.
The Guardian reported on Wednesday on Reform UK’s plans to close care homes and day centres in Lancashire as part of cost-cutting, picking up on our reporting on the potential conflict of interest.
And ITV News produced a great package on the conditions faced by asylum seekers at The Metropole in Blackpool, picking up the baton from our exclusive look inside the hotel - and conversation with a former staff member - from July.
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Each week on The Lead our senior editor for The Lead North, Luke Beardsworth, highlights some of the stories we’ve been breaking exclusively, covering extensively and staying the course on to ensure communities have access to verified independent journalism. If you have any stories you think we should be covering, or tip-offs, you can contact luke@thelead.uk
SEND demonstration in Lancashire…
Pairs of children’s shoes were left outside County Hall to represent SEND kids whose parents say have been failed by the local authority.
The shoes were left along with messages that each told the story of the struggles families have faced in getting support and advice needed.
Jenna Higson, mum to eight-year-old Lily and from Chorley, helped organise the Lancashire demonstration.
She told The Lancashire Lead: “My daughter Lily is eight and she’ll be nine in December. She has been without a school place for two years. We’ve been waiting for her EHCP - we applied in May 2024 and have not received a final plan.
“At the moment we’re waiting on news about a specialist school place. It kinda feels like everything is riding on that and I’m preparing myself for it to be a no, because it could be.
“If it’s a yes, it would be life-changing for us as a family. Lily is desperate to be part of a school community. She tells me all the time that she wishes she could go to school like her friends. But that environment isn’t right for her and it’s not her fault.”
…and in Sefton
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are being “squeezed out of society”, parents have warned.
Among those in attendance in Southport was Jayne O’Neill, a mum and an active member of the Voice of the Families support group, which advocates for improved SEND services across the borough.
She said: “SEND children and their families are being let down by the entire social care system. So many children and young people with SEND have not got school places.
“This failure in the SEND system impacts the whole family, in some cases extended families too. It affects your mental health, because in some cases, you can no longer work due to care responsibilities. You’re living on benefits, which is really tough, especially with the social and economic situation that’s going on right now.
“Parents are constantly having to fight, and it’s draining mentally, physically and emotionally and it’s very isolating. You lose contact with your family, you lose your friendship groups.
“The people who support the SEND families are often people with SEND families themselves. I found a great community out of Voice of the Families and other parents with SEND children, because they get it. It’s affirming that I’m not crazy, I haven’t got unrealistic expectations. We just want to get the basic rights but we’re not being afforded those rights.”
Play area resurfacing, market stall refurbishment and culvert works get go ahead in Calderdale
Senior Calderdale councillors have agreed to spend around £640,000 on capital projects.
Calderdale Council Cabinet members agreed to spend £600,000 from money already in the capital spending programme which is unallocated to any specific project on three schemes.
And they also agreed to provide around £40,000 in match funding, for an electric vehicle (EV) charging hub at the council’s Ainley depot at Elland, using money already allocated for transport projects.
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