Children with SEND: Assessments and Support Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Rupa Huq
Main Page: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)Department Debates - View all Rupa Huq's debates with the Department for Education
(2 days, 3 hours ago)
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Several hon. Members rose—
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Order. I would usually ask Members to stand and bob so that I know they want to speak, but not everyone has a seat. I think people are already doing this, but once Members have spoken, could they vacate their seat so that someone else can speak, because they have to be on the mic for the broadcast? I will try to get everyone in by setting a formal time limit. The clock will count backwards from two and a half minutes.
Paul Davies
I absolutely agree. This cannot be one part of the UK, one region or one city; it has to be across the UK. We have to see every child have that opportunity. I completely agree with you.
This is about us working together. It is about collaboration. It is very much about how, together, we can build a system that works for everyone.
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Order. The word “you” keeps creeping in. A lot of people have said it during this debate, but “you” means me, and I certainly have not done any of those things. Can we refer to each other as hon. Members or hon. Friends? The next speaker, who will be exemplary in this, is Greg Stafford.
Yasmin Qureshi
That point was made by the parents, and I was going to come to it in my speech.
Children are being placed in classrooms that do not meet their needs, and some of them are being forced out of school—others attend for just a few hours. Often, teaching assistants are given just one afternoon of generic training; they are not even experienced in these matters. Quite often, they have not even seen the plan, so implementation is inconsistent or absent. Schools, particularly academies, are very difficult to hold accountable. And one of the big frustrations that parents talked about is that there are no systems in place to deal with complaints, and that they often had to navigate the system and work very hard to try to get provision for their children.
I know that, since last year, the Labour Government have invested £1 billion in high-needs budgets and supporting children with complex needs, and that £740 million has been committed to adapt school rooms and build specialist facilities, even in mainstream schools. Great progress is being made, but I am sure that many of you find, when you go to your local junior schools, that headteachers are saying that since covid—
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Order. I think the hon. Member means “many hon. Members”, not “many of you”.
Yasmin Qureshi
Sorry. I am sure that many hon. Members have been to their local schools and been told that, since covid, the number of children with SEND has gone up, so the White Paper and the consultation are really important, and I know the Government will listen to everything we have been saying.