Scarborough Families to be Asked for Views on SEN Provision

Tuesday, 30 May 2023 06:00

By Matthew Pells with additional reporting from Stuart Minting, Local Democracy reporter

The families of children with special educational needs in Scarborough are to be asked for their views on SEN services as part of an information gathering exercise by North Yorkshire Council.

Councillor John Ritchie is backing the proposal to create a special "task and finish group" which would aim to hear first hand how SEN services are working and where there are problems.

It's hoped that the review into Special Educational Needs provision in Scarborough could help decision makers get an up to date view of the current situation.

North Yorkshire Councillors are hoping to hear first hand from families that access SEN services in the town.

Councillor Barbara Brodigan is chair of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee and welcomes the idea.

Last month the authority accused the Department for Education (DfE) of “extremely slow” action and providing an unfair amount of funding to provide school spaces for vulnerable youngsters with special educational needs.

An officers’ report to leading members of North Yorkshire Council said that while the government awards the county just 61 per cent of the national average figure for special schools building schemes, the authority is facing a shortfall of about 100 places from September and 350 places over the next three to five years.

The report stated that using DfE data and criteria for specialist provision funding, North Yorkshire ranked 118th out of 150 councils, despite facing higher costs than elsewhere due to providing localised services across England’s largest county.