Latest news with #JaneJohnson
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Speculation over SEND provision 'will bring fear and anxiety'
Families whose children have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) fear the government may be considering plans to scrap them, a charity has has been a sharp rise in recent years in the number of pupils with EHCPs, putting local authorities under financial with an EHCP are legally entitled to receive additional support if they have learning disabilities or face social, emotional or mental health challenges.A Department for Education spokesperson said it would be "totally inaccurate to suggest that children, families and schools might experience any loss of funding or support". 'Respite' Jane Johnson's 17-year-old son has had an ECHP since he was at primary said it enabled his move into special education. Ms Johnson, from Oldham, said: "It was when he was in year one that we first noticed a major difference."He couldn't cope with the large class sizes and it led to unwanted behaviours which would have led to exclusion."In a recent letter published in The Guardian newspaper, several charities and academics warned that, without EHCPs in mainstream schools, "many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision or losing access to education altogether".Ms Johnson said her son's EHCP afforded him the security of knowing he could stay in school."You've got a little bit of respite with an ECHP," she explained. "You're not as worried that they might get excluded tomorrow and without that, you're right back to square one with that worry every day." 'Steep rise' More than 482,000 children and young people in England have an the north-west of England alone, there are now more than 73,000 EHCPs - more than double the 32,000 recorded in Greater Manchester borough of Tameside has seen a fourfold increase while Halton in Cheshire has recorded a threefold rise has been driven by several factors in recent years, according to the Institute for Fiscal independent think tank pointed to a steep rise in the number of children and young people diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder also said more young people have speech and language problems while the number of students with social, emotional and mental health needs has also increased. Point is an Oldham-based charity which supports more than 4,000 families who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Manager Andrea Greenhead said many families had been left unsettled by speculation in the media about the future of said: "Headlines saying that EHCPs are going to be taken away from children in the mainstream setting will bring fear and anxiety and a cause for concern. "What families really need is the detail that sits behind it and a family and parent voice incorporated into the plans because the lived experience that families have are really crucial." 'Complex area' Many local authorities are struggling to afford the additional transport costs that are often associated with Council's bill has increased from about £2m to nearly £8m, while local authorities covering Stockport, Halton, Manchester and Trafford have also seen sharp of the money is spent on providing EHCP recipients with taxis to and from taxi bill has gone up more than fourfold in a decade, while Warrington has seen a 270% rise during that same period, from £1.25m to £ government said it inherited a system "left on its knees".When asked if she could scrap EHCPs, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described it as a "complex and sensitive area".Full details of the proposed changes to SEND provision are due to be announced in October.A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We have been clear that there are no plans to abolish SEND tribunals, or to remove funding or support from children, families and schools." Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
CBC
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
How Emma Donoghue's debut musical stands up for immigrants both past and present
For Emma Donoghue's first musical, The Wind Coming Over The Sea, the award-winning Irish Canadian novelist wanted to explore the immigrant experience in Canada, both past and present. The Wind Coming Over The Sea is based on the true story of Henry and Jane Johnson, a young married couple who left Ireland in the 1840s in search of a better life. In her research, Donoghue discovered seven letters the Johnsons had written to each other, which served as her inspiration. "The love between them just burns off the pages," Donoghue says in an interview with Q 's Tom Power. "In some cases, a single letter would take months to write. They're dirty and they're tattered. And I can tell you, there's no source of all the sources I've used in my historical writing that moves me as much as this little handful of letters." WATCH | How an Irish famine footnote inspired Emma Donoghue's new musical: Donoghue is no stranger to immigration herself — she's emigrated to two countries in her life: first England and later Canada. She decided to tell the story of the Johnsons as a musical using traditional Irish folk songs because she says one of the most important things immigrants bring with them is their culture. The Wind Coming Over The Sea sheds light on the hope, courage and hardship the Johnsons as well as many other immigrants have experienced on their journey to a new land. With immigration frequently in the headlines right now, Donoghue knew from the onset that this production would be "a very political play to do in 2025," despite it being set nearly 200 years ago. "At every point, I was trying to find a timeless quality to a story of immigration because Lord knows it's relevant to today," Donoghue says. "There are several scenes where Henry meets vicious hostility from both Americans and Canadians about immigrants as germ-spreaders, as job-stealers, as undercutters of wages, as, you know, the alien and the other. And we see this in every newspaper today, so I felt it was crucial to make this play stand up and sort of speak for immigrants then and now." You can catch The Wind Coming Over The Sea at the Blyth Festival in Blyth, Ont., where it's running until Aug. 12.
