Florence Eshalomi
Main Page: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)Department Debates - View all Florence Eshalomi's debates with the Department for Education
(5 months ago)
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David Johnston
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his campaign, with which we are very familiar in the Department; we would be delighted to meet him. Where local authorities do feel there is a need, they can open a new special school through the free school presumption route, which I would be happy to discuss with him further.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister mentioned the £2.6 billion that the Government have invested, but this is not filtering down. That is the key issue for parents accessing SEN provision, and so many parents are raising it at my surgery. One concerned mother told me:
“Parents and children are being put under intolerable stress and anxiety with a system which is inefficient and creating a significant mental health burden”.
The Minister mentioned the national standards. Will the standards include the fact that SEN children and children with autism are being arrested and their mental health is not being treated properly because schools simply do not have enough training and support? Will the Minister please address that?
David Johnston
I thank the hon. Lady. We are keen that schools are as inclusive as they say they will be when it comes to children with special educational needs. We have nine change programme partnerships to try to make sure that the system works a lot better. The money is given to local authorities, and we should already be seeing an improvement, but I would be happy to discuss it further with her.