Cheshire East Labour welcomes government approval of SEND reform plan

Cheshire East Labour Group has welcomed the Government’s approval of the council’s SEND Reform Plan, a major overhaul of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across the borough.

The plan is built around earlier intervention, more inclusion in mainstream schools and better co-ordination between education, health and care services, so that families get the right help sooner and children can be supported as close to home as possible.

As part of the agreement accompanying the reforms, the Government has also approved arrangements to offset 90 per cent of Cheshire East Council’s historic high-needs deficit.

Laura Crane: ‘An important milestone’

Councillor Laura Crane, Labour’s portfolio holder for children’s services, said: “For families, what matters is getting the right help for their child when they need it, without having to struggle to navigate the system or wait until difficulties have escalated.”

“We know we have more work to do, and families rightly expect to see real improvements. But government approval of our plan is an important milestone and gives us a clear route forward.”

Specialist help closer to schools

A central part of the reforms is a new Experts at Hand programme, which will bring specialist support such as educational psychology, speech and language therapy and specialist teaching closer to schools. The plan was drawn up with partners across education, health and social care, and with input from children, young people and families, including the Cheshire East Parent Carer Forum.

The Labour-led council is also launching an inclusion funding pilot to help schools support pupils with SEND in mainstream settings. More than 70 schools have already bid for money from its Inclusion and SEND Provision Capital Programme, funded through the Department for Education’s High Needs Provision Capital Allocation.

Cllr Crane said pressures on SEND had been “building nationally as well as locally”, with more children needing support and not enough specialist places. “Our priority is to build a system that intervenes earlier, supports inclusive education and provides better joined-up help,” she said. “That is better for children and families, and it will help us build SEND services that are sustainable for the future.”

Labour councillors say the focus now turns to delivering practical improvements that families can see, working alongside schools, health services and other partners.

• Cheshire East
• Cheshire East Labour
• Laura Crane
• SEND
• special educational needs
• Education
• children's services
• Local Government