Latest News for Parents & Carers

New research published today by nasen and Bath Spa University has found that millions of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be left vulnerable for decades to come if the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) workforce isn’t given more time, resources and support to meet the needs of all children with SEND.

The new report, The National SENCO Workforce Survey: time to review 2018-2020, estimates that 55% of primary SENCOs and 70% of secondary SENCOs are not allocated enough time to complete their role effectively – with 75% and 79% of primary and secondary SENCO’s highlighting that they were routinely pulled away from their role to perform other duties.

The survey also highlights that between 2018 and 2020, SENCOs time allocation has seen only slight increases at just 18 minutes per week and 54 minutes per week for primary and secondary phase respectively. Based on this trajectory, it would take almost 150 years (primary) and more than 40 years (secondary) for all SENCOs to become full time – a recommendation outlined in previous SENCO Workforce reports to fully support the needs of children and young people with SEND.

The children’s social care system in England is a “30-year-old tower of Jenga held together with Sellotape: simultaneously rigid and shaky,” an independent review of the sector has concluded. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care ‘Case for Change’ report, which was published the other week, found that the service is riddled with bureaucracy and risk aversion and needs urgent systemic change.

Ofsted published a report on the experiences of children and young people with SEND during the pandemic. The report is well worth a read but it’s long, and if time is short then you can read a summary by Special Needs Jungle.

Disability Horizons is working with charity Leonard Cheshire to find out more about disabled people’s experiences with disability hate crime in the UK. Whether online or in public, they want to understand the scale of the problem, what form it most commonly takes and whether any action is ever taken against the perpetrator. Take their short survey and tell them about your experiences and make your voice heard. Leonard Cheshire will be using the results to highlight the problem and help to create change.

The Department for Education, together with Disability Rights UK have launched the Disabled Apprentice Network to gather feedback and ideas to address any issues, barriers and solutions to make apprenticeships more accessible and inclusive. Members of the group are appointed because of their personal experience and desire to champion apprenticeships for Disabled people. The group will discuss, identify and share experience, advise on key issues for Disabled apprentices, suggest solutions and support the development of practical resources and toolkits. The group meets every month for one hour. If you are a Disabled apprentice or have done an apprenticeship in the past and would like to join the network, then please contact them at getahead@disabilityrightsuk.org