‘Very critical’ – Authorities schooling chiefs reply to particular wants disaster in Birmingham
The government’s education chiefs spoke tonight about a dire report to the city’s special services and said they are taking the situation “very seriously.”
Ofsted Health and Education Authorities and the Care Quality Commission have determined that the Birmingham SEND services for children and youth continue to have “significant weaknesses” three years after urgent action was ordered.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson could now decide to step in if he believes the city is unable to quickly improve the services it provides to 35,000 youth.
READ MORE: “We’re very sorry” – Apologies from health and city guides over SEND crisis amid calls to stop
Tonight, the Ministry of Education said in a statement:
“Caring for the vulnerable, including children, should be a top priority for any local authority and we take the situation in Birmingham very seriously.
“If a council does not meet the requirements to provide these children with adequate support, we will not hesitate to take action that will prioritize their needs and lead to rapid improvement.”
The statement went on to say that the ministry would “continue talks with Birmingham on the next steps”.
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They added that they expect the Birmingham City Council, education, health and care partners to work closely together to improve services and they will “continue to work closely with the NHS England to assist Birmingham in delivering what is needed Make improvements to the services as soon as possible ”.
It’s the end of a day when the city council’s handling of the SEND services of parents and politicians has come under fire.
The school principals also told the inspectors they were not confident that things would get better.
The Council and its health partners in Birmingham and the Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group were advised back in 2018 that there was an urgent need for improvement.
Since then, however, it has not made sufficient progress in all but one of the 13 areas classified as “considerably weak”.
Even considering the unprecedented impact of the Covid pandemic, inspectors said it wasn’t doing enough to get better.
The failures have resulted in the city council’s conservative group calling on councilor Kate Booth, who is in charge of the children’s welfare, to review her position.
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