I met with Vicky Ford MP the Minister for Children and Families, and the Chairs of local SEND groups to discuss SEND provision in Sutton, and the issues that children and their families currently face.
The local SEND group chairs from the Sutton EHCP Crisis Group, the National Autistic Society (Sutton Branch) and Get on Downs raised concerns that children are being placed in groups, and being labelled as having predictable or exceptional needs, and spoke about the challenges and issues that then arise from this pigeonholing.
Concerns about the structure of Cognus, and the decisions that are being taken were also discussed, as children are often rejected for help and parents have lost trust and are having negative experiences with the process. The Chairs also highlighted the Ofsted reinspection, and the ‘independent’ report that was produced last year.
Overall, there was a common theme in the discussion surrounding a lack of trust, a lack of transparency from Cognus, a lack of empathy, and the fact that parents feel that they are having to fight Sutton Council to get access to vital help and support that their children are entitled to.
The Minister has, as a result of the meeting, has asked the Department for Education to look in to the concerns raised, so Sutton Council can start taking steps to address the issues raised, start to re-build trust with families, and start to deliver the support required without parents having to fight tirelessly to arrange it.
I would like to thank Hayley, Lucienne and Roberta for their continued advocacy for SEND children in Sutton and their families, and I will continue to help and support them to improve the SEND provision and experience in Sutton.
