New pledge to Torbay SEND families

Members of the the council’s Cabinet meeting were unanimous in adopting a new policy and its five-point action plan for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
“Every SEND pupil is an individual, and needs to be treated as such,” said Cllr Alan Tyerman.
And Cllr Cordelia Law added: “For far too long these families have been treated like a problem rather than equal members of the community.”
They were speaking after Cllr Nick Bye introduced the action plan in his role as Cabinet member for children’s services.
“This is an entirely new way of doing things,” he said. “Putting the voices of the children and the needs of the families right at the heart of what we do.”
He explained the five points of the new plan, the first of which is ‘SEND is everyone’s business’.
The others are:
to identify and act on children’s needs at the earliest opportunity
to understand the needs of children, young people and families
to make sure all early years providers and mainstream schools support an inclusive approach to education
to support young people moving into adulthood.
Cllr Bye said it was vital that the bay’s other health and education partners signed up to the plan and added: “This has really got to mean something to children and young people, and make a difference to them.”
And Cllr Tyerman stressed: “Its success will depend on the willingness of all partners across the bay.”
Cllr Steve Darling said the council should also take careful note of the frequent links between special educational needs and families on low incomes.
“It is noticeable how often special educational needs and poverty walk hand in hand,” he said. “That is something we need to be reflecting on.”