Opposition calls for debate on Birmingham's SEND failings

Birmingham City Council said progress had been made on its SEND provision

There have been calls for an extraordinary meeting to discuss a series of failures affecting children with special educational needs in Birmingham.

Opposition members on Birmingham City Council have accused the Labour-run authority of a lack of action following a critical Ofsted report in July.

They have written to the lord mayor to ask for a debate on the issue.

The council said it was working on a plan to bring about "positive changes".

Parents of children with special educational needs protested in August after Ofsted found not enough progress had been made in addressing the issues.

An earlier report had found pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the city "make weak academic progress" compared with all pupils nationally.

The council was then forced to terminate its contract with a school transport provider after it found half its drivers did not have the correct background checks for working with children.

It left 800 families facing uncertainty, just before the new school term, with complaints of delays and even children being driven to the wrong school.

Elizabeth Glinka, Political Editor, BBC Midlands

Coming as it does just months ahead of all out elections in the city, the Labour leadership may see this move by opposition councillors as a politically motivated side swipe.

However, the issues regarding special needs provision in the city are long standing and well documented.

Earlier this year inspectors found the council had not made "sufficient progress" in tackling issues highlighted by Ofsted and the CQC in 2018, and in August the authority terminated its contract with transport providers amid safeguarding concerns.

Progress we're told, is being made, but there's no doubt many parents and carers of SEND children in the city remain frustrated.

Will another meeting make the difference? Maybe not, but campaigners are unlikely to oppose council leaders facing more scrutiny on this issue.

Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors have asked for the extraordinary meeting to take place on 12 October.

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Alex Yip, the Conservative spokesperson on children's wellbeing, said: "These are significant issues, with children and families who deserve a huge amount of support, and instead they're met by incompetence and silence."

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said it was working to identify and resolve the issues and would talk to head teachers, parents, carers and service providers.

It said the issues would be discussed at a meeting on 2 November, but feedback from parents and pupils suggested "strong improvements" had already been made.