After disability benefits, is Labour really about to target the educational rights of special needs children? | John Harris
WWill Care Starmer hat and colleagues learn from a disaster Try to reduce benefits? Most speculation has so far focus on the Prime Minister’s prospects and other ministerial professions. But soon there will be greater decisions, which will have severe consequences for people’s lives.
One of the areas of politics in particular is about to restore political conversation to the subject that defined the failure last week: disability. once again , exhaustion Representatives from all party wings feel anxious and anxious. Campaign and charitable groups – not to mention the huge numbers of people who will be affected directly – fear the worst. As the wounds of the luxury bill continue, there is a dark feeling of a possible revenge for the same story.
That is why. The Minister of Education, Bridget Philipson, wants to repair the system of providing England for children and youth with special educational needs and disability. Many years of conservative failure – not the least of which are reforms A decade before a decade Which was reduced from remoteness, and the exit of children from the prevailing schools to specialized schools has led to the costs of large amid disappointing results. The councils that run everything Scream for help. The cabinet, at the same time, responds to chaos and requires work.
A new educational white paper will be published in the fall. Philipson says the government needs “Think completely different“She wants to reversed the trend that has been established in the years of conservatives and gives priority to include children in prevailing schools. There is a conversation Somehow “make sure that all teachers are teachers of special educational needs [sic]”. new The task of nervous contrast and the end group “Work alongside the administration to lead comprehensive education” has been created; 740 million pounds of capital financing It is spent on “adapting the classrooms to be easier and created specialized facilities.”
On his face, these moves are very welcome. But it is clear that it will take much more-and much time-to transform things useful. One of the major educational unions has already said that without a proportional increase in the spending of daily schools, it can make plans.Extreme pressureOn teachers. There is greater tension in the heart of government plans.
Since the Labor Party won the elections, the increasing noise came from Whitehall and beyond on the great restriction of legal rights in the assigned ruling that supports the education of hundreds of thousands of children and youth. These rights are implemented by the official transmission court, and are embodied in education, health and care plans (EHCPS), which determines the needs of children and savings that requires them in a legally binding document. Contrary to what you read Some news meansThey are not any kind of “golden tickets”: parents and careers are accustomed to unveiled phone calls and long wait still have to do so often. Fight their local councils To help their plans stipulated. But-and for me, one of the parents with special needs, I am talking about the experience-usually allowing stressful families to sleep at night.
For approximately 40 years, such rights It was the cornerstone From a transmission system. But their future is not certain now: the councils, in particular, feverish Pressure For parents and their disturbing rights from the road. Late last year, a government source Quoted in the times of the Financial Times Keep the possibility of “thousands of students” who get the provision of a rights -based. Despite the fact that EHCPS is strongly required in the main schools, one of the senior advisers to the Ministry of Education recently said that looking at whether EHCPS should be applied to children in these settings exactly.The conversation we are in the middle“.
As a result, parents and introductions – and many teachers – feel terror. When the ministers are asked about what will happen next, they tend to come out with the response: “No decision has been taken.” On Sunday, Laura Quinsbone challenged the BBC Philipson whether it was about to “get rid” of EHCPS, which was met with mysterious words about the improvement in schools in schools, and familiar allegations that the current system is “opponents”, and there is no specific answer. This, and it goes without saying, does not aim exactly the people’s concerns.
Only under 483,000 children and youth In English schools now EHCP, an increase of 11 % over the previous year. Their numbers have increased in part because providing unofficial special needs in schools has become so unreliable that the only way to secure what the child needs is to apply for one. Official data show that Most of EHCPS requests It starts by schools and colleges, often a last step. In short, many children need them. Without support, such plans aim to ensure, even more students will either get out of the main current to a specialized judgment that is often expensive, or ends up to join the increasing numbers of children who are not in official education at all.
For the expected future, because even the optimistic should agree that the improvements promised by the government will take years to start really, all that will remain is the case. So the safest and most humane option is to leave children’s legal benefits in place, and start improving the transmission rule as Philipson wants, on the basis that the assistance designated to reduce EHCP numbers and costs naturally. Instead, its most vibrant movement can be the seizure of terrible rights, which certainly increases the impression that this Labor Party suffers from a problem inherent in issues related to disability.
A new campaign called Save Roving Adtus Rights was launched during the weekend With a message in the guardian Signed by the leading personalities of charities and lobby groups, including deficit rights in the United Kingdom, the Federation of Autism Federation and MENCAP-as well as in this way, he sent parents in this way as Macris Christine McQuenes and Carrie Grant, along with the TV naturalist and nervous diversity emerging Chris Buckham (full disclosure: I help abroad, and I was one Signs). For the second time in less than six months, is this a kind of ministers whom the ministers want to argue with in Good Mooring Britain, 5 Live and BBC Breakfast?
While I saw the benefits revealing the failure, knowing that the story of people with special needs will explode soon, it brought great thinking. The Labor Party needs to stop growing fear and awe among people who are already full of their lives. Instead of selecting weak parts of the population who already views the future with deep anxiety, they may follow more powerful interests, and who may have to help the government in its financial problems. Instead, fear revolves around parts of society is already able to overcome it. Work governments aim to make people feel less fearful, and no more. If there is another “reset”, then this is the place that should be focused on.
There is one point that may bring clarity after government thinking. Politicians usually rule that they will win future elections. But there is now every opportunity to end the authority of the UK reform, and perhaps in partnership with all the remaining conservatives. If we judge through his recent statements, Nigel Faraj Very doubtful views About special needs and disability. There is strong evidence that The same applies to Kimi Padnouch. The current fashion is on the political right of Al -Bahah about brutally Reducing the state It will have profound effects on sending families. If the Labor Party acquires many basic educational rights for children, it may end at the mercy of politicians who will sabotage their lives. “No decision has been taken,” says ministers. It is time to take the only moral, political, and speed person.
