SEND education has been completely neglected but we’re working to fix it once and for all
The MP for South Shields has vowed that the Labour Government will fix the system surrounding SEND school provisions.
Emma Lewell, the Member of Parliament for South Shields, visited Epinay School, on Nevinson Avenue, in South Shields, on Thursday afternoon (September 18).
The MP met with pupils and staff as she toured the school, which caters for children and young people (aged four to 18-years-old) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
It was the first time that she had visited the school in a number of years and Ms Lewell expressed her delight at how far Epinay School has come since it opened in its current location.
The MP also told the Shields Gazette that the Labour Government is working to fix the system surrounding children and young people in SEND education.
She said: “It’s amazing to see this school go from strength-to-strength, there is obviously some really good leadership here and some excellent staff.
“It just looks so much brighter - it feels like a really happy, healthy and brilliant place for children to learn.
“Under the last 14 years of Tory governments, SEND has been completely neglected and it was always an after thought.
“We’ve ended up in this crisis situation where there is not enough places for children and lots of money is being spent where children are having to leave the borough to get an education - it’s not right.
“Parents are absolutely tearing their hair out having to go through this system just because they love their children and want the best for them but schools are struggling with it too.
“Schools want to provide more and this government is absolutely committed to sorting that out once and for all.
“There is a White Paper coming out later this year and I would urge everyone to feed into that and then hopefully, we can get a proper system where children are supported in mainstream education and where there is enough special school places for those children who absolutely need them.
“Then parents won’t have to spend all their time fighting a system that quite frankly is broken.”
During her visit, Ms Lewell spoke with Chris Rue, the headteacher at Epinay, to discuss the issues that children, their families, and schools are facing when it comes to SEND provisions.
Among the issues highlighted by Mr Rue were mainstream schools not having the appropriate provisions to help SEND pupils, a rising demand for SEND services, and the complicated system that allows children access to SEND education.
Chris commented: “Emma has been great not just listening to me, but getting around the classes, speaking to children and having fun with them.
“It was really important for me to share some of the issues relating to education in South Tyneside and the North East - especially for those messages to go forward to the national government.
“Emma was really keen to listen and understand but more importantly, to talk about some of the positives - which there are lots of in our area - around the types of things that we are trying to do to make schools more inclusive.
“It was a fabulous visit that I hope we do again sometime soon.”
You can find out more about Epinay School and how it helps its pupils thrive at: https://epinay.org/.