Special needs budgets to be controlled by parents

[BumpingFuglies]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18069152

Read this this morning. What does everyone think?

Ah, think Sally has posted similar thread, sorry!

I'd love to know what is proposed to be put in place to help those kids who are put on the SEN register at some level largely because of their chaotic home life. A lot of these children, even with no formal diagnosis are having to deal with latent mental health issues which they don't get any help with because parents either don't realise or don't care. The agencies which deal with and try to help these families outside of school have already had budgets slashed. ITA about it all being a ruse to save money and at the expense of some very vulnerable children.

i agree with your last sentence ouryve

am still trying to wade through what is spin, speculation and fact about this, but it seems like a whole new round of hoops to jump through to me

Who decides who is awarded a budget in the first place? If the local authority is in charge of assessment and funds allocation then we all know what direction this will go in over time!.

Who decides how MUCH the budget is to be? I can't pay for much on tuppence ha'penny can I?

It sounds great in theory - but schools allowing parents to hire TA's? Imagine the politics's that'll cause if parents do this en masse. Also I can't see all those comfy "review meeting addicts" relinquishing their fat salaries without a fight - there's a huge number of caring carrots livlehoods at stake here.

Parents having budgets in theory increases accountability which I'm all for. However there's a LOT of politics and details to be worked through (like the the funds provided be anywhere near enough or is this a politically attractive way of slashing the funds for much needed support to the bone?).

But you won't get money.

At the moment, LA's define meetings, reviews and monitoring as 'provision'.

Once provision can be turned into money and handed to parents this 'provision' as defined about will be called 'management and administration'.

It will cost the same.

'But children who have statements are only a small proportion of children classified as having special needs. And the green paper suggested that "too many children are being over-identified" as having a special need, with this label being applied to a very wide variety of problems"

Seems like they are implying without a statement, your child doesnt have special needs. Which will just make it easier for the government not to meet the needs of children without statements and even harder for parents/schools to get statements.

'Within the school population, 2.7% of children have statements - representing those with the greatest physical or mental health needs'

Bollox, 2.7% of children ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEM BY THE LA. How about all of those who dont, because you need MONEY and lots of it in order to fight not getting one. Not to mention time and experience in order to fight.

Im assuming any money that is to be given to parents (supposedly) will be the parents of the children with statements? Isnt that code for passing the buck?

Some woman on sky news has just recommended that we should speak to our schools if we have concerns about our children having special needs!!!!!!

HA f.....g HA!!!!

hehehehhee

i'll speak to mine tomorrow then - thanks for the advice Ineed

wonder if they'll see me this time, i bet they will if i mention sky news