SEND Provision: Rural Communities Debate
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Jim Shannon
Main Page: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)Department Debates - View all Jim Shannon's debates with the Department for Education
SEND Provision: Rural Communities
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 day, 23 hours ago)
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Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered SEND provision in rural communities.
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Desmond, and I am delighted to have secured this debate. Discussing this subject in detail will be hard in a 30-minute debate, but I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister for her positive engagement with it. Given the time constraints, I will be able to accept only a few brief interventions, largely from those hon. Members who indicated in advance that they will intervene.
I will begin by thanking the parents, carers and families of children with special educational needs and disabilities who have contacted my office and shared their experience of the realities of SEND provision in rural communities. Many of the conversations I have had with those constituents in South West Norfolk have been incredibly difficult. The same themes arise time and again: frustration, exhaustion and a profound fear for their child’s future.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. Travelling long distances to attend schools creates anxiety, distress and sensory overload, potentially affecting children’s ability to engage in learning when in school. Does he agree that we must invest in developing SEND provision in mainstream schools to ensure that children can access appropriate support closer to home, with less travelling, less anxiety and fewer problems?
Terry Jermy
I entirely agree, and I am sure the Minister will speak about that.
Prior to serving as a Member of Parliament, I spent many years as a county councillor in Norfolk, so I was aware of the SEND system and its difficulties from my councillor casework, but nothing could have prepared me for the avalanche of SEND-related cries for help that have arrived from right across my constituency. Since I was elected in 2024, more than 250 families have contacted my office to express serious concerns about the way their children’s needs are being assessed and met by schools and local authorities.