Has systemic failure become part of the SEN system itself?
Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:
”Children with SEN, and their families, must be treated fairly by councils so they receive the support to which they are entitled. It is not acceptable when pupils miss out on crucial education, are unlawfully excluded or have their education opportunities adversely affected.
“A common phrase we hear from families when resolving a dispute about SEN is that it feels like a constant battle. It should not be this way. When things go wrong it is vital that councils act quickly to avoid children being disadvantaged.”
The LGO receives more complaints about education and children’s services than any other area, with 17% of its 20,186 complaints in 2012/13 being in this area. Complaints about SEN provision accounted for 8.6% of all education and children’s services complaints.
So what goes wrong? This from the report "Special Educational Needs: Preparing for the Future".
"Based on our complaints, some of the most significant areas of concern are:
- delays in the process – which can often lead to other problems, such as the loss of education; >> inadequate assessment and review of statements of SEN
- poor planning of an individual’s SEN support – particularly in the key transition phases
- failure to provide specific SEN support – such as qualified specialists
- unlawful exclusions – children wrongfully excluded from the educational system due to their SEN
- failure to ensure suitable SEN provision in a councils’ area.
It all sounds horribly familiar. So it is, year on year. Apparently the complaints received in 2013-14 so far are running at a similar level. What that suggests, perhaps counter-intuitively, is that "the cuts" have not impacted on the number of complaints. In other words, this level of complaint - the level of failures in service provision of the kinds listed above - has become normalised as part of the SEN system itself. This level of failure of children and their families is simply tolerated by the SEN system as collateral damage in its very functioning. It's what keeps it in business.