Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham has been asked to join a special policy panel launched by the Labour Party to look into the support available for children and young people with special educational needs.
The review is seeking to draw on the experiences of young people and parents who have been in contact with the current system of support for those with learning difficulties or disabilities, as well as the experts involved in providing those services, such as teachers, educational psychologists and support assistants.
One of the aims of the review is to establish a guarantee of what children and parents who need help should be able to expect from the services which are there to support them.
Alex said:
“A lot of good work has gone on in the last 10 years focussing on how to improve the life chances of young people with the various physical, cognitive and emotional problems which can prevent them from getting as much from their education as their peers, but my postbag and inbox regularly feature desperate appeals from parents in Stockton North who are battling through the system to get the support they need.
“It is those experiences which have inspired this review, and I would encourage anyone who has gone through that system – whether as a child and young person or as a parent or carer – and those who are involved in providing the services which help these children, to share their views on how the system could be improved, and what priorities the Labour Party should be campaigning for in Westminster.”
“I believe it is important that all parents should know what they are entitled to expect from their public services, so that they can hold them to account if they fall short. That is the key thing I hope to come out of this process, and I am looking for as many opinions from Stockton on that as possible.”
Further information on the review, and details on how to get involved, can be found online at http://j.mp/SENreview or contact Alex Cunningham on 020 7219 7157