Derbyshire Family Expresses Distress Over SEND School Placement Delays

A mother in Derbyshire has expressed feeling like she is “failing” her daughter due to the ongoing wait for a placement in an appropriate special educational needs (SEND) school. Phoebe, who lives with autism, is scheduled to start Year 5 in the upcoming academic year. She received offers for two SEND school placements, contingent upon Derbyshire County Council furnishing an updated education health and care plan. The Derbyshire-based family submitted the necessary documentation in July. While local authorities are mandated to respond within four weeks, the family reports that after four months, they have not received any communication and are concerned about losing the offered placements. Derbyshire County Council stated that it has since communicated with the family, and Phoebe’s plan is scheduled for an imminent review. Emma’s mum, Phoebe, commented: “We chased and chased, email after email after email. “And ultimately, we don’t know what next year looks like now. And that’s really difficult to come to terms with.” Emma indicated that a mainstream school environment is “not feasible” for Phoebe in the coming year, citing insufficient funds or staff to provide the necessary support. She further stated: “If we don’t have a placement, it’s home schooling, and we’re not teachers, we don’t have a clue what to do. If we have to do that, we have to give up our business.” “We never thought we would be in this position. “We had Phoebe’s education, in our minds, mapped out with the school she has now…the school tried really, really hard.” “It’s devastating…we feel like we’re failing.”The council are putting their problems on to our children’s futures. There’s no excuse for it.” Lee, Phoebe’s father, expressed his view that the council is not “upholding its end of the bargain” regarding its obligations to children with special educational needs, such as Phoebe, who is presently enrolled in a mainstream school. “It’s the not knowing of how it’s going to impact Phoebe. She deserves the same chance as every other child.” The responsibility for compiling education health and care plans rests with Derbyshire County Council. A spokesperson informed the BBC that the authority has communicated with the family recently, and Phoebe’s updated plan is scheduled to be reviewed by the SEND panel for consideration in the near future. This month, a government regulator identified “widespread and systemic failings” concerning the outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) throughout Derbyshire. The Ofsted report indicated that children “wait too long” for their needs to be assessed, resulting in some “missing large amounts of their education” and consequently placing families such as Phoebe’s in a state of crisis. Alex Dale, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for education, stated that the authority accepts all the findings and issued an an apology. “We’re going to continue working extremely hard and redouble our efforts to try and really improve at a much faster rate, as Ofsted have rightly pointed out we need to.” “But I can’t offer guarantees that things will get magically better within a short period of time because it’s just the nature of the system. It’s extremely challenged and pushed at the moment.” The NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, which collaborates with the council in Derbyshire to oversee SEND provision, stated: “We apologise to children, parents and carers for the failings this report has identified.” “We are disappointed with the findings of the report but we are determined to address the issues.”