Jen on Nostr: from the perspective of a SEND parent, it feels very much like the government wants ...

from the perspective of a SEND parent, it feels very much like the government wants to force all kids into the conformity of mainstream education, regardless of whether that's good for the children.

They're messing about with SEND support with, as you point out, no hint as to their actual vision for where they're going. At the same time, they're introducing new rules to make home education more difficult (and more rigid in its requirements), while home ed rates are going up because SEND kids are being failed by the rigidity of school. Against a background of PIP reforms that are basically attempts at backdoor cuts, this does not give me confidence in anything good coming from reforms around support of people with disabilities.

We've had a decade of the Tories pushing for more authoritarian schooling, with fines for absence, shifting all assessment to exams, and encouraging policies like phone bans and quiet corridors. This is another field in which the Labour promise of "change" is ringing hollow.