SEND Community Roundtable

So many families of children with SEND have told me that they have really struggled to get the support they need. I've heard from you and from others about the difficulties you've faced and the feeling so many people share, that they have been set up to fail by a system that – to put it bluntly – is broken. It’s clear that improvements and reforms are needed to the system of support for children with special educational needs. And as your Member of Parliament, I have visited many local schools – specialist and mainstream and also raised these issues in Parliament. 

The government has announced that they will publish a Schools White Paper this Autumn and, as your local MP, I want to champion your voice and feed back your views to Ministers. The Department has already been engaging with experts, a number of whom have been brought in by the Department for Education to help guide reforms. But huge expertise exists from parents, carers, young people and teachers in Hillingdon who’ve seen a broken SEND system up close for many years. I want to make sure your views and reflected in these future planned changes to the national SEND system.  

That is why I am organising a SEND reform consultation meeting in Hillingdon. This will look at what should underpin any reform of the SEND system, how do we practically make change happen and how do we build a system where every child can achieve and thrive?