ROTTEN BOROUGHS
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
SEND provision in Surrey is shameful. More families took the Tory-led county council to tribunal for failing to meet SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) duties than any other local authority in England – 2,295 between 2021 and 2024, according to figures revealed by ITV News (the next worst was Hampshire, with 1,329 cases).
Of the 150 councils with SEND responsibilities, Surrey accounts for around one in 14 of all upheld SEND-related complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman since 2021. Last year’s Surrey council parent carer survey found more than half had no confidence in SEND case officers to act in the best interests of children and families, with another third expressing “not much confidence”. Parents recently wrote to education secretary Bridget Phillipson demanding a judge-led public inquiry into the SEND failings.