I will always regard John Harris highly, persuaded by his convictions for improving provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), but I cannot agree with his conclusions this time (Labour doesn’t seem to like Send schools for kids like mine – but here’s what we’ll lose if these precious places are forgotten, 7 June).
I worked in a local authority Send service during the 2014 reforms and beyond, seeing children funnelled towards private provision, which was sold to parents on a governmental stance of “state poor, private better”. Providers came and went, sometimes offering little-scrutinised quality or outcomes or specialism. And this alongside rising fees as a spurious proxy for quality. Large companies now work towards monopolisation, and Send funding, inadequate then and now, has gravitated in that direction since.
