Why I’m launching a survey on SEND

In my first year as your MP I’ve visited nearly every school across Blackpool South and one issue has come up more than any other – support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND.

Everywhere I go teachers tell me the same story. They’re doing their best but they’re stretched thin and parents are fighting for basic help their kids are legally entitled to.

Nearly 16% of pupils in Blackpool’s mainstream schools here receive SEND support, higher than the national average, and  the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans has almost doubled since 2019. But only 27% of those plans are completed within the 20-week deadline – well below the national figure of 46%.

Behind those statistics are families struggling through months of uncertainty, endless paperwork and constant worry.

With children and staff at Woodlands, one of our brilliant SEND schools in Blackpool South

In Blackpool, the most common reason for a child needing an EHC plan isn’t autism, as it is in most of England. It’s speech, language and communication needs. That demonstrates how early life challenges are linked to our children development. More than half of children with SEND in Blackpool are eligible for free school meals, demonstrating the tangible impact of poverty on children’s development.

We can’t fix that unless we listen properly to the people living it every day.

I’m launching a Survey on the experience of SEND support in Blackpool South. It’s open to parents, carers, educators and young people. Your responses will feed directly into my work in Parliament. I’ve already raised SEND in the House of Commons and I’ve secured a meeting with the new SEND Minister, Georgia Gould. She’s promised to put teacher and pupil voices at the heart of reform and to deliver a legal right to support. When I speak to her I want to ensure I’m truly representing your voice.

If you’re a parent, carer, teacher or young person with experience of SEND, please fill in the survey. Tell me what works and what doesn’t. You know the truth better than anyone, and that’s the truth I’ll take to Westminster.