Unease among Labour MPs as government eyes reforms to Send provisions
MPs, parents, families, and teachers all agree the current system is ripe for reform.
Poor state provisions have seen local councils spend billions of pounds educating pupils independently and transporting pupils to and from school.
Meanwhile, parents and families have told ITV News they've had to pull their children out of mainstream state schools for months on end due to inadequate provision.
In autumn this year, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, will outline her plans for reforming Send (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provisions.
In recent weeks, government ministers have refused to rule out scrapping Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) - the legal document outlining support for Send children.
The speculation has fuelled suspicion and anger among campaigners and parent groups, who over the weekend penned an open letter urging the government not to remove the legal rights of Send children.
But there are now growing concerns among Labour MPs about what these changes could look like and how they will sell reforms on the doorstep.
One backbencher told ITV News that ministers needed to frame the changes in the context of improving outcomes for children rather than cost-cutting.
"This is the same issue as with winter fuel and welfare - there's too much of a focus on making the numbers work on a spreadsheet without thinking about the impact on people," they said.
'If people think the government is scrapping EHCPs as another form of penny-pinching – that's going to be a hard sell,' another Labour MP said.
Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock and a Send parent, told ITV News that special educational needs is one of the 'biggest issues' in her inbox. She describes the government's upcoming reforms as an 'opportunity' to reform an "adversarial" and "broken" system.
But she warned that any changes needed to be done in collaboration with families.
'The answer is to listen to parents, listen to families and listen to the children themselves," she said.
Other MPs voiced frustration that the lack of clarity from the government has fuelled suspicion and anxiety among parents.
'They've been caught off guard, again, by the scale of concern on an issue," one added.
'EHCPs aren't a golden solution, and the system does need reform – but we've got to explain what is being done and bring parents on side,' another backbencher said.
Over the summer, ministers will continue discussions with MPs and campaigners before confirming plans in the School's White Paper.
With the dust still settling from last week's welfare rebellion - Downing Street will be keenly aware that the success and failure of Send reform will rely on getting MPs and - more crucially - the public onside.
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