Parents of SEND children accuse council of 'neglect'

Parents are unhappy with the quality of the SEND services provided by Wirral Council

Parents of children with special needs and disabilities staged a protest over their local council's "failure" to provide them with a proper education.

One mother at the protest outside Wirral Council's headquarters in Birkenhead, Rachel Scott, said she had once asked if education bosses were simply "waiting for her daughter to die".

She and other protesters said the council was "neglecting" their children's needs.

Wirral Council said it recognised required improvements have been "slow".

Rachel Scott said she questioned the council over her daughter's future

The council was issued with an improvement notice by the Department for Education (DfE) in May "as a result of poor progress against the actions and deliverables" required by Ofsted.

Ofsted highlighted 10 areas of "significant concern" in an inspection published on 9 December 2021, but parents have claimed "nothing has been done".

The notice added that the council’s revised improvement plans should deliver appropriate and sustainable improvement, taking account of the views of parents, children and young people, school and education leaders.

'Stop blaming'

Ms Scott said each time she approached the council for help with her daughter, "they just put hurdles in the way".

Ms Scott said she had phoned the council's SEN department 20 times in one day but had been unable to speak to anyone.

She said her daughter is now educated at home after being "thrown out" of a school which could not offer Educational Health Care plans (EHCs).

"The council service needs to change, it's got a toxic outlook to parents, it's got a parent-blaming workforce, us parents are trying to do our best for our kids.

"Stop blaming our children, take responsibility for your actions, hold your hands up and say we have a problem and we are going to sort this."

Tina Yourelis said her son is "constantly struggling"

Tina Yourelis, from Bromborough, said her ten-year-old son, who has autism, was expelled when he was four.

She said she has gone to tribunals and has stood in as a SEND governor at her son's school in a bid to help other parents.

She said her son will never be able to cope with full-time education and is "constantly struggling".

"I've had reports from therapists and psychologists stating what he needs and how he needs it and the council have just disregarded it.

"Someone actually said to me, 'Well I would benefit from a holiday abroad but we don't always get what we want'.

"This isn't a holiday, this is what my son needs, what he legally should be obliged to have."

'Restrained 86 times'

Protester Sue Peacock, an independent SEND advocate who has five autistic children, told BBC Radio Merseyside she felt she had "missed her children's childhood fighting the local authority".

Angela Tait, from Hoylake, said her son had been "restrained 86 times" at a former school, and she decided to educate him at home after the "traumatic experience".

She said she and her son attend art therapy for children who can't access the education they need at a café in the village.

Elizabeth Hartley, director for children, families and education at Wirral Council said she "understands the frustrations of parents, carers and families of children with special educational needs".

She said the DfE notice advises the council and members of Wirral SEND Partnership on specific improvements which must be made by October 2025.

"As I did at the time of publication, I accept and acknowledge this move from the Department for Education as, since being inspected in 2021, our progress to improve has been slow," Ms Hartley said.

She said the council, members of the parent-carer forum, and other partners, meet regularly as part of a partnership-wide improvement board.

"As a system, we have an important job to do and will remain focused on delivering the best provision for children and young people with SEND," she added.