Cuts by Central Government are forcing Bradford Council to change the way services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools are funded. The proposal will cut the number of staff and introduce charges to schools for some services.

Schools are already financially overstretched and cannot afford to pay for these services. This comes at a time when there has been a 60% increase in the number of children being assessed for special educational needs.

The support, advice and training needed by classroom teachers to ensure they can accommodate additional needs in their classrooms on a day-to-day basis will become increasingly unavailable and classroom management increasingly difficult. This will impact ALL pupils whether or not they have special educational needs.

This plan is short sighted and damaging to the educational opportunities, mental wellbeing and futures of thousands of school children and their families across the whole Bradford District.

It is well recognized that many children who get good SEND support at school can stay in mainstream schools and don't need expensive specialist placements.

This ePetition ran from 01/03/2018 to 12/03/2018 and has now finished.

366 people signed this ePetition.