Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
Debate between James Naish and Paul Davies(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)
Special educational needs and disabilities are not a niche issue. It is a matter of justice, opportunity and inclusion. For too long, families have had to fight for the support their children deserve. The system has been adversarial, slow and inconsistent—this must change.
I am pleased that we are seeing the seeds of change across my constituency. Schools such as St John’s Church of England voluntary aided junior and infant school, Upperthong junior and infant school and Wellhouse junior and infant school are participating in the partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools programme. This initiative is training teachers to better understand and support neurodiverse children, fostering inclusive classrooms in which every child feels seen and supported.
The Government are providing additional funds. Kirklees council has received more than £6.1 million in capital funding for high-needs provision in 2025-26, but funding alone is not enough. We need a system built on collaboration between schools, families, healthcare professionals and local authorities. We need early intervention, not late reaction. We need to move from a model in which parents fight for support to one in which support wraps around the child from the start.
James Naish
My hon. Friend has referenced training. One of the biggest single asks from my constituents in Rushcliffe is for autism-specific training for school staff, yet most teachers report that very little specialist training takes place. Does he agree that there ought to be a standardised national professional development framework for teachers and support staff to make sure that this is embedded?