I'LL MEND SEND
I’ve let down families of disabled kids – now I’ll put it right and help get more funds, says kids minister Will Quince
CHILDREN’S minister Will Quince has apologised for failing disabled children in a victory for The Sun’s Give It Back campaign.
In an exclusive meeting with parents of disabled children, he acknowledged families have been “let down”.
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And the minister said sorry to a young man who felt such a “burden” he considered ending his life.
The Sun arranged the discussion at the Department of Education to coincide with the biggest shake-up into Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in eight years.
Mr Quince told four parents who have battled authorities for a combined total of more than 70 years to get the right schooling, health and social care for their children: “Every single child who isn’t getting the education they deserve, every parent who has been let down by the system, that pains me.
“Do I apologise for that? Of course I do, and it’s exactly why we must put this right.”
READ MORE ABOUT GIVE IT BACK
He was responding to a demand for an apology from campaigner Sam Carlisle, 54, whose 20-year-old daughter, Elvi, has complex needs.
‘Mum spent life fighting’
The Sun’s Give It Back campaign with charity coalition the Disabled Children’s Partnership is urging the Government to plug an annual funding gap of £573million in social care and support.
We have highlighted the plight of families such as Marie Martin and her son Zak, 18, who has been home-schooled for four years due to autism, ADHD and severe anxiety.
Zak, who revealed he felt suicidal because he “couldn’t face another day in the system,” told the minister: “I have been made to feel like an inconvenience and a burden on society and I’ve watched my mum spend her life fighting the authorities.”
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The MP for Colchester, Essex, said: “I’m sorry you and your mum have had the experience you’ve had.
“I am determined to get this right for you and your mum and for every other parent and child.”
The Sun can also reveal that ministers will dish out thousands of places for kids in up to 60 new special schools. From today, councils can bid for a £2.6billion pot of cash to build new schools.
The SEND green paper will replace previous reforms from 2014.
Read More on The Sun
The proposals will affect everyone up to the age of 25 who needs extra support in mainstream education to those with complex needs in special schools, as well as parents, carers, teachers and teaching assistants, health and social care workers.
The public have until July 22 to give their views.
- For more information on the SEND green paper and to have your say, go to or see .
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PARENTS GRILL KIDS' MINISTER WILL QUINCE
MUM-of-one Marie Martin, from South Normanton, Derbys, asked: “Why do we need to overhaul the system?”
Will Quince said: “Too many people feel they have to fight to get their child what they deserve and are entitled to, which is a world class education.”
“We’re focusing on how we involve parents more in the process.”
Marie, 55, who goes by the name Send Warrior Mum Making a Difference on Twitter, said: “How will you make local authorities accountable?”
Will responded: “We’ll publish speech and language waiting times. If parents can see how long children are waiting, they can say, ‘That’s not acceptable.’
“At the moment, if a school doesn’t want to admit a child, only the Secretary of State for education has the power to enforce. I’m considering whether that should be at the local authority level.”
Mum-of-six Mandy Chivers, 46, from Princes Risborough, Bucks, has three children with autism – Lily, 16, Robyn, 18, and Ted, 12. The part-time social media assistant asked: “You have promised more SEND teachers. How are you going to do this?”
Will replied: “Every teacher has to be a teacher of SEND. We have to improve initial teacher training. We also have to ensure more teachers are SENDCo (SEND Coordinator) trained with a new SENDCo qualification.“
Mandy asked: “Children are going to be put into bands according to their needs. But many children have complex needs, so who is going to decide what band they go in?”
Will Quince replied: “Whether you live in Blackpool or Bournemouth, there is huge disparity between what provision you might have. We want a national standard based on need and complexity.”
Single parent Deborah Huck, 55, from Staveley, Cumbria, is mum to Madelena, 18, who has Down’s Syndrome. She said: “One part of the green paper that disturbs me is re- stricting parents’ choice of schools.”
Will said: “One of the things we heard from parents is that choosing a school can be really overwhelming.
“A local inclusion plan would set out what support is available locally and offer a mixture of mainstream as well as specialist and independent settings.
“But if a parent thinks another school is the right one, they can challenge that.“
Deborah said: “After 18 years, there is no one I trust with my daughter’s care and education in the local authority. How is ‘co-production’ with the local authority going to work?”
Will replied: “I think most civil servants are good people but they work within the parameters and culture of a system. The culture within SEND is largely based on an adversarial nature.
“I’m trying to break the culture but it’s not going to be quick or easy.
“We’re going to identify early, we’re going to get health and social care to play their part, get children the support they need earlier.”
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