The education of our most valuable asset – our children and young people – should be a key priority for every Government, including those children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
f40 believes we must revolutionise our education system and invest heavily to ensure every child is given the best chance to succeed in life.
The current system is not working as well as it should be.
Funding is unfair between local authority areas, meaning some schools receive thousands of pounds less per pupil than others. This is wrong.
Pupil attendance is down; we have a teacher retention and recruitment emergency; and there is a huge crisis in SEND, with children not receiving the right support in the right environment as quickly as they should be, whilst local authorities have spiralling deficit SEND budgets.
We appreciate the financial pressure on the UK economy and, in this context, investing in public services is difficult. However, can we afford not to invest if we want to provide young people with the best life chances and ensure future economic growth?
f40 believes we should:
We represent 43 local authorities from across England that receive among the lowest levels of education funding, as well as those with serious concerns about the SEND crisis. For more information about becoming a member, contact Secretary Karen Westcott or call 07545 210067.
Secretariat and public affairs services are provided by DTW consultant Karen Westcott.