Northamptonshire SEND Community Heads To Parliament To Personally Hand Over Its Submission On National Inquiry

Posted on 18th March 2025 at 10:44

SEND

A submission to a national inquiry in to the future of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, that has been formulated by the Northamptonshire SEND community, has been delivered in person to the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee that is holding the inquiry.

After years of increasing demand for SEND support, the Parliamentary Education Select Committee, which is cross party, will focus on how to stabilise the system in the short term, and how to achieve long term sustainability with improved outcomes for children and young people.

The inquiry will examine every phase of education and development, from the early years through to the age of 25.

Last week the Member of Parliament for Corby & East Northamptonshire Lee Barron brought together influential members of the Northamptonshire SEND community at a special round table session at the Holiday Inn in Corby.

The session and included parents, advocates, education professionals spanning Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Post 16 providers, Post 18 employment, North Northamptonshire Council, Educational Psychologists, Occupational therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Charities and Teacher and Education representatives.

Following the meeting, which was described as an ‘outstanding success’ by some of those present, a comprehensive submission has been written for submission to the Education Select Committee.

This week, the Chair of the Education Select Committee, Helen Hayes, the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Northwood, received the report in person from SEND round table member Kay Sammon accompanied by Lee Barron MP.

“There has been a great deal of time, commitment and hard work put in by lots of members of the Northamptonshire SEND community to produce this comprehensive report.” said Kay Sammon, Chair of UpsnDowns a charity that empowers people with Down syndrome to lead happy and fulfilling lives. “Therefore, I am really pleased that with our Member of Parliament Lee Barron, we could present our response directly to Helen who leads this nationally significant inquiry.”

The inquiry is looking at varying quality of provision across the country and how to make provision more consistent between local authority areas. It will also look for examples of replicable best practice, as well as seeking evidence on how to make Ofsted’s accountability measures more effective.

“I wanted to bring together this important group of people to ensure our submission to this inquiry is one that is community and professional led.” said Lee Barron MP. “They experience every day this crisis and they are the voices that count.”

“This comprehensive, well thought out and expertly written submission directs the Inquiry to consider and implement real solutions to a real problem.” he said.

“In recent years, report after report has documented the failures of the SEND system to deliver the support children and their families need. Despite the best efforts of professionals in schools and local authorities, across the country, children are being let down.” said Chair of the Education Select Committee Helen Hayes MP. “As a committee we now want to move beyond simply pointing out the problems and focus on finding solutions that are realistic and practical for Government to implement.”

The Inquiry will look at how mainstream schools and other educational settings can be more inclusive to children with SEND by providing high quality support, including changes to the curriculum, defining what inclusivity looks like in mainstream settings, and improving support and training for education practitioners.