Teachers have called for the government to rethink SEND reforms – despite confirmation from Lucy Powell, the new education secretary, that she plans to go ahead with changes announced earlier this year.
NASUWT – The Teachers Union proposed a motion at the TUC Congress in Brighton, called for SEND funding proportionate to the demands the system places on teachers, schools and colleges; for educators to play a role in system change; and for the protection of pupils’ legal entitlements to support.
The motion was passed by Congress and followed a recent survey by the union which found that nearly eight out of ten teachers are expecting to teach more SEND pupils this year, and more than 90% said the complexity of SENDs was increasing in their schools.
A fifth said they spent their own money on SEND equipment and resources.
A child is not included simply because a placement has changed, or because they have been placed in a mainstream classroom
Mark Dickinson, the NASUWT’s president, said:“The crisis gripping our SEND system was not created by children, it was not created by families, and it was not created by the teachers.
“This crisis is the direct result of years of calculated underinvestment in our education, health, care, and local services.
“Inclusion without investment is not reform. It is nothing more than the government transferring responsibility and risk away from Whitehall and onto the shoulders of schools and individual education professionals.
“A child is not included simply because a placement has changed, or because they have been placed in a mainstream classroom. Real inclusion means belonging. It means participating, making progress, and receiving the right support in the right setting.”
Matt Wrack, the union’s general secretary added: “Our children, teachers, and all those working in schools and colleges deserve better than a desperate rehash of a SEND system that is designed to save money before it saves education.
“The government must significantly increase SEND funding before it makes any other plans.”
