Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and concerns about the SEND Reform White Paper.
These were used to inform our organisational response, which you can read in full HERE. It is important to remember that nothing has changed yet, but we are determined to ensure that children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, including DLD, are properly supported within any reformed system. You can still contact your MP with any of your own thoughts, and you are welcome to share our consultation response with them.
We highlighted 5 key areas of concern which we will continue to raise in future discussions –
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- The failure to recognise, mention and cater to the needs of young people with Developmental Language Disorder,
- The lack of information regarding family support and advice,
- The significant workforce shortages that will make delivery of these reforms impossible,
- The erosion of rights to an education that meets children’s individual needs, and
- The erosion of legal rights to fully independent oversight via tribunal in many aspects of support.
Our work on this will continue, and we hope our members and supporters will continue to ensure that the voices of families are heard throughout the process. And we will continue to highlight that simply recognising DLD within SEND reform is not enough – Families must also be properly included, informed and supported, so they are no longer left to navigate the system alone.