Parent carers call out a lack of accountability in education system

2 mins read

Friday 9 August 2024

The lack of accountability is now a common phase in the battle to fix the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system in England (and no doubt elsewhere in the UK).

The SEND Tribunal and the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) are dealing with record numbers of cases, leading to long delays.  

Most of the current mechanisms for accountability (complaints to schools/local authorities, tribunals, judicial review) are reliant on proactive parents to seek redress and complain following wrongful decisions. Many parents say they don’t have the time, energy or confidence to challenge decisions.  

In a recent focus group, parent carers identified the root cause of the failure of the education system as the government’s refusal to hold local authorities to account. When asked if they had to identify one issue for the government to prioritise and act on, they said accountability. They described the current accountability system as purposefully complex, convoluted and adversarial. 

Our policy lead, Imogen, has put together a briefing paper explaining the current accountability routes and Contact’s vision for a stronger accountability system. 

Along with improving accountability in the system, read about Contact’s other asks to improve England’s SEN system