It was a pleasure this week to join fellow Surrey MPs to discuss local SEND provision with Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Clare Curran, and Liz Mills and Tracey Sanders from the Council's Education and Learning Department.
In my meetings with local schools issues around delivery and consistency of SEND support is often raised, and I am often contacted by residents who need assistance in obtaining the support they need. The demand for SEND services and support has grown, and continues to grow, at a rapid rate, and it is important we can work together to support SCC in meeting this demand.
Issues raised during the meeting included the turn around time for responses, the number and detail of EHCP applications, the need for consistent delivery, and also difficulties around school transport for pupils with SEND. I am pleased that SCC has committed to share additional information around expected response times and work to improve clarity of communications. I hope that this meeting is the start of a new forum of proactive engagement to help address challenges where they do arise.
Along side this, I continue to work with our local schools and am in the process of setting up a meeting between the Cabinet Member and our local school leaders to help address the issues schools are facing in Runnymede and Weybridge. This work includes engagement with CAMHS services to help ensure we can deliver consistent and co-ordinated support across both the health and education needs of local pupils.