Poll highlights gap between ministers’ ambitions to reform Send and the reality in schools
Mike Short
Ministers and schools must properly recognise and reward the vital role support staff play in delivering for children with send
Survey paints a bleak picture of an underappreciated workforce going above and beyond
The best way for councils to run efficient services is for them to be adequately resourced and staffed.
Ministers are entirely responsible for the funding crisis that’s putting schools in this impossible position.
Years of neglect and underfunding have worsened the situation, leaving some schools on the verge of collapse.
That will mean even more cuts to services and further hardship for communities everywhere.
This will only add to the uncertainty and anxiety already being felt by pupils, parents and staff.
Parents, carers and staff should be told if any school buildings are on the brink of collapse.
Staff are already leaving for better-paid jobs in supermarkets, warehouses and coffee shops.
The FSA needs to come up with a significantly higher offer to avoid any disruption.
To halt the exodus of teaching assistants they need to be better rewarded
Council and school workers are enduring a major cost of living crisis.
No worker wants to go out on strike, but staff can’t afford to feed their kids, pay for housing or fill up their petrol tanks
Instead of trying to provide education on the cheap, the government must improve funding for the sector