Julian Critchley shares this latest news from Isle of Wight Labour Party. Ed
The Isle of Wight Labour Party today (Tuesday) demanded that services for children with special needs are protected from the council’s budget cuts.
Island Labour understand that the council plans to cut services for vulnerable children, including:
- Reducing the number of secondary ASD specialists by 25%
- Reducing the number of ILC places by more than 10%
- Cutting SEN outreach support
- Reducing the hourly rate offered to support those with EHCPs
These cuts are part of a package under consideration by the Conservative council which will hit children with special needs particularly hard.
To target most vulnerable children “is just unacceptable”
Island Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesperson, Julian Critchley, said:
“We all know that this Tory government has cut education funding in real terms by more than at any point since the Thatcher government. Schools are in the midst of a funding crisis which is harming all of our children.
“However, even with this context, to target the most vulnerable children for further cuts is just unacceptable. Having spent over a decade teaching in a state comprehensive, I have seen first-hand how the league tables and Gove-imposed changes to the curriculum left children with special needs without the support they so desperately need.”
SEN children need more help, not less
Julian went on to say,
“With schools judged solely on exam results, children with additional needs are often bottom of the list of school priorities for support, yet children with special needs require more help, not less. We must protect and ring-fence the budgets for those children, to prevent them having even more support withdrawn.
“The Isle of Wight Labour Party urges Conservative councillors not to emulate the callous indifference of their national leaders, and to put a stop to this plan to harm the interests of our most vulnerable children.”
Image: cbcmemberphotos2477 under CC BY 2.0
