DECP supports call to improve education system and end current culture of blame

The letter, signed by 15 organisations involved in educational psychology and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), says that to understand the factors underpinning the current SEND crisis politicians must stop looking at the SEND system in isolation, and instead consider the wider education system.  

It calls for SEND not to just be a 'bolt on' or afterthought, but that those children who need something additional and/or different to access education should be considered as central to all educational policy. 

Dr Joanna Stanbridge, committee member of the DECP and a Principal Educational Psychologist, said:  

"It is widely acknowledged that there is a crisis in SEND which is impacting adversely on children, young people and their families across the country. Reform is required to address this, but to achieve any meaningful change, it is imperative that 'SEND' is not considered in isolation and that the aim is not to 'fix SEND'. 

"A review of the SEND system requires consideration of its positioning within the wider education system and the very many 'upstream' factors that are impacting on children and young people's access to education, including how extraordinarily difficult it currently is for schools to provide inclusive education.  

"This open letter to the Secretary of State for Education has been endorsed by all three of the main national Educational Psychology bodies, including the DECP, and is supported by a number of leading SEND organisations.  It represents a collective call for the government to ensure that any review and eventual reform of the current system considers the needs of children and young people who need something additional and/or different to access education from the outset in every aspect of education policy.  

"It also calls for an end to the current culture of blame between parts of the SEND system which are often working under competing pressures and inconsistent legislative frameworks in the context of considerable funding cuts over the last decade and a half.  

"Instead, the letter and its signatories call for a coordinated and united approach which keeps the needs of all children and young people at its centre. The letter sets out an invitation for the government to draw upon the expertise of the professional of Educational Psychology and to work constructively together to co-produce a way forwards".  

Read the full letter to the Secretary of State for Education.