Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA)	Defending children's right to special education provision
Government's SEN strategy 'misleading, inadequate and ignores LEA law-breakers' 11 February 2004 Back to home page	On Wednesday 11 February 2004, the Government will launch its ten-year strategy to provide support for children with special educational needs. But the strategy is misleading and inadequate because it ignores the major problem facing children with SEN and their parents -- commonplace, chronic, deliberate law breaking on the part of Local Education Authorities. This week IPSEA is lodging formal complaints with the Secretary of State against five Local Authorities which have broken the law, in cases which have come to light in just the two weeks of IPSEA's advice work prior to the Government's launch. In a letter to Charles Clarke accompanying the complaints, John Wright of IPSEA writes: 'whether a child's needs are met depends upon their individual parent or carer being able to 'police' their Local Authority. A tall order for any parent; an impossibility for parents and carers who, for whatever reason, are less confident, less able, or less well resourced. It is inevitable that it is the children of these less advantaged parents who are less likely to receive the provision their needs call for. Whilst welcoming much of the Strategy we believe the document is : misleading, in failing to acknowledge that the major problem in special educational needs is that many Local Authorities persistently and deliberately disregard their legal duties towards children with special educational needs and get away with it because of Government failure to police the law; and inadequate, in failing to recognise the crucial need for an independent agency with the role of enforcing the law with regard to children with SEN. Our fear is that these omissions by the Government will be interpreted as tacit approval by LEAs who are breaking the law; and, that this will continue to be the case until the Government gets a grip of the problems caused by defiant LEAs.	Read complaints
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Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA)

Defending children's right to special education provision

Government's SEN strategy 'misleading, inadequate and ignores LEA law-breakers'

On Wednesday 11 February 2004, the Government will launch its ten-year strategy to provide support for children with special educational needs. But the strategy is misleading and inadequate because it ignores the major problem facing children with SEN and their parents -- commonplace, chronic, deliberate law breaking on the part of Local Education Authorities.

This week IPSEA is lodging formal complaints with the Secretary of State against five Local Authorities which have broken the law, in cases which have come to light in just the two weeks of IPSEA's advice work prior to the Government's launch.

In a letter to Charles Clarke accompanying the complaints, John Wright of IPSEA writes:

'whether a child's needs are met depends upon their individual parent or carer being able to 'police' their Local Authority. A tall order for any parent; an impossibility for parents and carers who, for whatever reason, are less confident, less able, or less well resourced. It is inevitable that it is the children of these less advantaged parents who are less likely to receive the provision their needs call for.

Whilst welcoming much of the Strategy we believe the document is :

misleading, in failing to acknowledge that the major problem in special educational needs is that many Local Authorities persistently and deliberately disregard their legal duties towards children with special educational needs and get away with it because of Government failure to police the law; and
inadequate, in failing to recognise the crucial need for an independent agency with the role of enforcing the law with regard to children with SEN.

Our fear is that these omissions by the Government will be interpreted as tacit approval by LEAs who are breaking the law; and, that this will continue to be the case until the Government gets a grip of the problems caused by defiant LEAs.

Read complaints