12,920 children in Hertfordshire who have EHCPs (Education, Health and Care plans) are at risk of losing support, as it’s rumoured that the Labour government could scrap EHCPs – a legally binding document that outlines a child or young person’s special educational needs and the support they are entitled to receive.
Of these, 6,348 pupils with EHCPs in Hertfordshire are in mainstream schools, and may be at particular risk of losing their rights to assessment and support under Labour’s rumoured plans.
Local Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper is calling for young people and their families to have their legal rights protected.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey and Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson have written to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer setting out five principles for SEND reform and offering to work on a cross-party basis with the government, to ensure the reforms deliver for children with SEND and their families. The five principles include maintaining the right to SEND assessments for children, boosting special school capacity, improving early identification and cutting waiting lists.
Daisy said:
“Local SEND families will be incredibly worried by these rumours so the government needs to urgently clarify what reforms it intends to bring forward and what impact they will have on children.
“Local SEND families were let down for years by a Conservative government that refused to reform the broken funding formula and by Conservatives in county hall who sat on their hands, failed to deliver the special school places we need and received the worst possible Ofsted rating for their SEND services.
“Just as Hertfordshire Lib Dems have made improving SEND services a top priority, so too should this Labour government – and that starts by promising that no child in Hertfordshire or beyond will lose their legal rights.”
Daisy has been campaigning for SEND improvements for years.
Most recently Daisy urged the government to introduce a concessionary interest rate as 50% of local authorities are being forced to borrow to spend on SEND provision, forcing councils to spend taxpayer money on interest payments than on frontline services.
The Liberal Democrats are also calling for more support for local authorities to provide SEND services, better training for school staff, and a national body for SEND to coordinate provision and specialised support throughout the country.
Locally, the new Liberal Democrat administration at HCC have announced a “SEND summit”. This will take place on 15 September, and you can find out how to get involved here: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/microsites/local-offer/feedback/improving-send/we-are-listening-send-summit.aspx
Daisy speaking at a St Albans protest calling for SEND reform, in 2023.