Skip to main content

SEND in Telford and Wrekin

I want to speak openly about a troubling issue that affects some of our most vulnerable children and their families.

Recently, Telford & Wrekin Council was found to have failed a young girl, Y, who relies on essential speech, language, and occupational therapy. Despite her having an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHC Plan) — which is meant to guarantee her the support she needs — she was left waiting for over a year. That’s simply not acceptable.

What’s most concerning is that this isn’t just about one case. It’s part of a broader pattern where families feel let down, where promises made in support plans are not kept, and where children’s development and well-being suffer as a result. The Ombudsman’s investigation confirmed that the council failed to check whether therapy was happening or when it would start. Because of that, Y missed out on vital services from May 2023 to August 2024 — a full year of missed opportunities for her growth and confidence.

The council has now acknowledged its fault, apologised publicly, and agreed to pay a symbolic £3000 to Mrs. X, (although we can find no evidence of the public apology, and it's certainly not referred to the councils Newsroom)

They’ve also promised to improve their procedures. But let’s be honest — talk and apologies are just the start. We need real, tangible change. Our children with disabilities and their families deserve more than just promises; they deserve timely, consistent support that helps them reach their potential.

This case highlights a troubling pattern. Between 2018 and 2023, at the time of writing the Ombudsman received 107 complaints, nearly 30 about SEND support in our borough. Many families are still waiting for the help they need or are facing delays, inadequate assessments, or worse — services that simply aren’t delivered at all.

Why does this matter? Because every child with special educational needs should have an equal chance to thrive. When local authorities fall short, it’s children and families who pay the price. It’s a failure of the system — a system that, frankly, isn’t working well enough for the families who rely on it most.

The recent findings and the Council’s inadequate response should be a wake-up call. We need to hold our local authority to account. It’s not enough to pay lip service to children’s rights. We must demand that every child receives the support outlined in their plans — on time, every time.

Families like Mrs. X’s shouldn’t have to fight for basic services that are their child’s right. Our children with disabilities, their families, and their futures deserve better. It’s time for genuine change, for proper oversight, and for a commitment to making sure no child falls through the cracks again.

We in the Green Party will continue to advocate for a fairer, more inclusive Telford and Wrekin — because our children’s futures depend on it.


Mark Webster

Disabilty Officer

The Green Party

(Telford and Wrekin)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Wolf in Reformist Clothing

A Wolf in Reformist Clothing: Dissecting the Structural Ableism of Reform UK's SEND "Vision" As a Green Party Disability Officer with three decades of experience, and as a parent who has spent 15 years battling intransigent local authorities for my neurodivergent son, and others, I watched Richard Tice’s press statement with a familiar, corrosive fury. This is not a blueprint for reform. It is a masterclass in the very structural ableism and neoliberal betrayal that has manufactured the SEND crisis. So come with me, and let’s dissect it with the critical eye that it demands. The Insidious Linguistics of Erasure Tice with his core creed: “Nobody's disabled, people are differently abled.” This phrase is not progressive; it is erasure. It is a feel-good, ablest euphemism designed to sanitise the reality of disability in a society structured against us. Disability is not a matter of “different ability”; it is an interaction between impairment and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Farage's Cruelty-Autism

Farage's Cruelty & Misinformation on Autism: A Call for Compassion and Truth in Autism Awareness Month - by Mark Webster, Disability Officer with The Green Party Telford and Wrekin  As Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month 2025 draws to a close,  the need for understanding, compassion, and factual discussion about autism and the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system has never been more urgent. Yet, Nigel Farage and Reform UK have chosen this crucial moment to spread harmful and inaccurate narratives about autism diagnosis, compounding stigma and misunderstanding for autistic people and their families across the UK. SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) is a blanket term that refers to conditions or difficulties that make it hard for a person to learn or access education compared to others, such as learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or emotional and behavioral challenges.  Farage’s Harmful Claims In a series of recent statemen...
Post a Comment
Read more

LibDem Conference 2025

Following last week's observations of the Reform UK Ltd conference, I had hoped that there would be nothing to report from the Liberal Democrats conference as far as disability is concerned. How wrong was I? While at the conference their leader, Sir Ed Davey, stocked the fires of the hostile environment towards the sick and disabled, using tired old tropes and unsupported figures! See video For istance, Sir Ed, sounding very right wing himself, regurgitated the "fact" that there is widespread fraud by those claiming PIP (Personal Independence Payments) while talking with a radio broadcaster see video While fraud has seen an increase, from 0.0% to 0.4% which is approximately £1.2 billion, and is born out by the governments own 2025 figures. To put that in context, the welfare bill is £303.3 billion per year. Further comparison shows that tax fraud in the UK figures were £48.8 billion a year, and known tax evasion was £0.7 billion. So it would take a person on a...
Post a Comment
Read more