Dec 10, 2021, Hull Daily Mail: Lack of school places for autistic children across East Yorkshire as council boss apologises for failures https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/lack-school-places-autistic-children-6323346
E. England
East Riding Council's children's lead has apologised to children and families failed by Special Educational Needs (SEND) services following a recent inspection which highlighted a lack of school places for kids with autism.
East Riding Council's Childrens Services Director Eoin Rush said officials had much to do to regain the trust of children, young people and parents historically let down by SEND services.
Mr Rush said reforms backed by councillors in October, including more training for frontline staff and greater investment, would not happen overnight but services had improved in the last two years.
It comes as Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) spoke to local young people, families, carers and health workers as part of a joint inspection in October….
Inspectors found that while officials grasped what needed to be improved and reforms were starting to bear fruit, problems still persist. They reported a lack of proper school places for autistic children and those with other needs, parents' experiences with services, weak communication and outcomes for SEND pupils in mainstream education.
Council officials and inspectors have agreed to an action plan in efforts to address ongoing problems.
Services have been dogged by backlogs in completing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) which set out arrangements for children with special needs and disabilities…..
The number of children expected to need EHCPs is also forecast to climb from 2,581 to 3,000 by 2023, further straining high needs spending in council budgets.
The percentage of school pupils with EHCPs in the East Riding was 14 per cent in the 2019-20 academic year compared to a national average of 15.6 per cent.
Data also showed there has been a 42 per cent increase in the number of EHCPs issued in the last three years….
Parents of SEND children have claimed the system is dysfunctional, while Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Cllr Denis Healy previously claimed they felt regarded as statistics on a piece of paper….
"While significant improvements have been made over the last two years, there is still a lot of work to be done and that will not happen overnight….
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