Send children to get more support, event hears

More support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is being put in place in Northamptonshire, a panel has heard.

Parents, teachers, local government representatives and nursery owners talked about the issue at a round-table meeting hosted by Corby and East Northamptonshire Labour MP Lee Barron.

It was held as the government seeks to overhaul the Send system, although its reforms have been delayed until later this year.

Troy Hobbs, North Northamptonshire Council's interim head of Send, said it was "seeking to grow up to 800 more specialist places" at mainstream schools.

Hobbs, in charge of the department for the last year, said he believed attaching Send units to existing schools was "one of the quickest, most affordable ways for us to create this really good quality provision for children".

The places would be for pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which are legal documents for children and young people aged up to 25 who need specialist support.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Hobbs said demand had grown so rapidly organisations had struggled to keep up.

He said there had been extra investment by public bodies across the county to speed up EHCPs.

There were eight specialist schools in his district, Hobbs added.

But he said demand outstripped supply, hence the push to provide the 800 specialist places, one of the initiatives discussed at the round table.

Anna Jenkins, senior vice principal at Corby Technical School, also attended the round table, the third hosted by Barron.

She said her school had seen an increase in demand for Send provision, in line with national trends.

"The level of need and complexity of need has increased as well," said Jenkins.

"I think it's also important that we recognise that the challenges for young people and families are changing all the time.

"There's also a sense of realism that there's not an unlimited resource."

Paul Meadows, founder of SENDS 4 Dad, a support group for fathers and male carers, was also at the discussion.

"Every kind of partner has got to be involved in this to make sure we come out with the best thing for our young people," he said.

"You're always going to have different angles where each side will come from.

"We all know schools are going to need some massive investment to put everything in place that should be."

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