{"id":68002,"date":"2025-12-04T18:48:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T18:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=68002"},"modified":"2025-12-05T09:16:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:16:58","slug":"devon-council-vows-to-fix-send-system-after-years-of-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/devon-council-vows-to-fix-send-system-after-years-of-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon council vows to fix SEND system after years of struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Devon County Council has pledged to overhaul its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services after years of challenges that have left families frustrated and trust broken.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cllr Denise Bickley, Cabinet Member for Children\u2019s Services with responsibility for SEND, said the past six months have been focused on rebuilding relationships and laying the foundations for lasting change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was addressing Devon County Councillors at a meeting of its Full Council this afternoon (Wednesday 4 December).<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n\t
\r\n

Councillor Bickley said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n \t\t

\u201cSEND is an incredibly complex area, and for too long the system has been failing families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are turning the massive container ship away from the rocks and back onto the right course. That means putting children at the heart of everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\t\t\"Councillor\r\n
\r\n Councillor Denise Bickley, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services – SEND<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Councillors heard that since taking on the role, Cllr Bickley has visited schools, met SENCOs and headteachers, attended voluntary group workshops, and spoken directly with parents, including at an open meeting in Tiverton with families and their MP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese conversations are never easy, but they are essential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need all partners, education, health, and parents, to collaborate, listen, and work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an enormous amount of work to do, and significant risk if we don\u2019t get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we are ready for the challenge. Our goal is a sustainable, robust SEND system that works for every child and family in Devon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":20808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,2175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children-families-and-education","category-send-category"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":20808,"title":"Primary School Key Stage 2 News Page","alt":"A group of Primary School pupils sat around a desk working 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