Concerns about shortage of SEND support in Teesside classrooms
Schools are back this week
A Teesside SEND support charity say they're concerned about a shortage of support in classrooms, as children get back to school this week.
The National Audit Officer says increased funding from government has been insufficient to meet demand, with an estimated £4.6bn deficit in council schools budgets across England is expected next year.
MAIN, which is based in Ormesby, Middlesbrough, supports children and adults who are autistic, learning disabled or have complex needs.
Its Chief Executive, Heather Whyman, said: "We always worry about our children going back to school but actually school provides a resemblance of order which a lot of our children need. We find that the school holidays are more intimidating and upsetting and they disrupt that routine that our children are so used to.
"There's a little bit of lack of consistency, we've got some schools that are absolutely brilliant, it could be underfunding, staff shortages, there's long waits for assessments, we do have a postcode lottery when it comes to having diagnosis and assessment process in this area, but there's the right to choose.
"Schools are on the frontline but without proper funding, training, national policy guidelines and support, it's really difficult. A lot of schools nowadays are turning into academies and of course, that has its own problems especially for children accessing mainstream that could potentially be neurodiverse or have a learning disability.
"It can be quite difficult for the school to understand the needs perhaps and for that child to feel supported completely, and then parents struggle as well to have that understanding. It's really good if the parents and school are on the same wavelength and there's that open communication, it works brilliantly.
"Every child deserves to thrive at school. MAIN have a brilliant service here, we have an alternate education provision for Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Darlington, so if a child is unable to access school, whether it's a SEND provision or mainstream, MAIN have alternatives."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The evidence is clear that this government inherited a SEND system left on its knees – which is why we are looking at changes to improve support for children and stop parents having to fight for help.
"The education secretary has been clear that there will always be a legal right to additional support for children with SEND.
"This government is actively working with parents and experts on the solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools."