Swindon Special Educational Needs Network
March 30th, 2008Our fifth meeting was held on Tuesday 18th March at the Parish Hall in Wroughton. We were joined by Sue Wald, Manager of the Strategic Partnership for Children and Young People in Swindon. We were given an insight into the arrangements for education and health, with the Borough working hand in hand with the Primary Care Trust. All this is part of the Government’s Every Child Matters Agenda. Frankly, it is a welcome approach because it helps avoid the situation that I and many other parents have experienced in having to explain our child’s situation over and over again to differing bodies. I call it “having to re-invent the wheel”. It is tiring and grinds you down, I can tell you. Now, parents will be able to access services at one point and there will be an integrated approach to dealing with their child’s educational and health needs.
The main obstacle to real improvement remains funding, however. The problem is particularly acute in Swindon, which is one of the worst funded local authorities in England and Wales. This lack of Government support is having a real effect on the educational futures of many children. I am the SEN Link Governor at The Ridgeway School, where pressure on the budget is forcing the school to reduce its SEN provision. Teachers and children are going through a trying time.
The current “free school dinners entitlement” formula may well be relevant in areas where there are large numbers of families on benefits. In Swindon, however, where there is near full employment but many working families on low incomes, this formula is positively unhelpful in schools like The Ridgeway.
