Families hopeful of over 100 school places on the way
Families frustrated at the lack of provision in Shropshire for children with special educational needs have been given fresh hope of over 100 additional places being created in county schools.
“Shropshire is currently the worst performing in the West Midlands when it comes to SEND provision, and one of the worst in the whole of the UK, with many families waiting over a year to find out whether or not they have a school place for their child,” said Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley. “So these shocking and upsetting delays need to be sorted with more assessment staff, more education psychologists, to deal with the backlog.
But Mrs Buckley – who last week discussed the matter with Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, and also Assistant Director of Education and Achievement at Shropshire Council, David Shaw – says there is now a specific plan in place to increase the number of school places in Shropshire by 116.
She said: “This improvement, expected this September, pending approval, would be in line with the Labour government’s ambition and would be a real boost to the SEND provision in Shropshire.
“SEND provision in the county has not been good for some time. Currently, families should receive detailed evaluations of their child’s needs within 20 weeks. But only 38% of Shropshire families get that evaluation within that timeframe. It’s not good enough.
“The local education SEND team have thankfully put stronger structures in place following a damning inspection. There’s been additional national support to improve our local provision and ensure quality standards across the county. Happily, improvements are now on the way.”
