Renewed calls for action in the Children Services Department of Cheshire West and Chester Council went unheard at last week's full meeting of councillors, as the Labour-led Council voted against debating the important topic.
Two parents from the 'CWaC SEND Accountability Group’ - a group which formed earlier this year and comprises parents who say they were forced to turn to each other after being failed by the council’s special educational needs (SEN) department, gave passionate and firm speeches which culminated in a standing ovation from some councillors.
Given the agenda’s order, it was over two hours between the public speakers sharing their views with Council before the Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Cllr Adrian Waddelove (Farndon, Con) asked for the motion to be brought forward on the agenda. The Labour Group then voted against debating the vital motion, refusing to discuss that “…(the) Leadership has repeatedly stated publicly that issues raised by the SEND Accountability Group (SEND AG) on behalf of parents with vulnerable children are attributed to failings at national level, yet evidence shows this council is significantly under-performing in comparison to a large majority of other councils.
A recent Ofsted report from August into the Council's children services department led to the ruling that all but one area "requires improvement'. The report stated that there was an "over-optimism by leaders" which had led to a decline in performance since the department's last inspection.
To date, the SEND Accountability Group have held two peaceful protests outside the Council's offices in Ellesmere Port. However, after more than eight months, very little has changed, with strong views from concerned parents who feel that things are getting worse, not better.
Commenting after the meeting, Cllr Waddelove said: "I could not believe that Labour Councillors decided to side with their leadership rather than standing up for some of the most vulnerable residents in our Borough. Labour have repeatedly stated that this is a national issue. Not only is this disingenuous towards the individual children and their parents who are currently going through the process but other local Councils with the same pot of money are massively outperforming Cheshire West and are actually fulfilling their legal statutory obligations.”
According to Government statistics, Cheshire West and Chester are the 14th worst local authority in England for completing Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHPs) within the statutory 20-week time limit.
Cllr Waddelove added "I do not believe that the Labour leadership have accepted ownership for the SEND crisis locally, even when so many parents and their children have been let down and are having to deal with the impacts of proven and measurable failings, and the fact they voted down the motion last Thursday, sends a clear message that they are running away from accountability on this vital local issue."
