JUST NOW: Following the 2024 Ofsted SEND report, Suffolk council members resigned Today.
Following the release of a devastating assessment on the provision of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, three senior Suffolk County council members resigned from their positions in the cabinet and deputy cabinet.
Along with James Reeder and Chris Chambers, Rachel Hood, the cabinet member for education, skills, and SEND, resigned from the council.
Mr. Chambers served as the deputy cabinet member for SEND, while Mr. Reeder was the cabinet member for children and youth services.
Their resignations follow the publication of a report by education watchdog Ofsted, which claimed Suffolk County Council was failing children with special educational needs. Their resignations come days after Ofsted, the education watchdog, published a report which said Suffolk County Council was failing children with SEND. Suffolk’s SEND service was visited last November and the watchdog has demanded improvements are made before officials return in 18 months’ time. It comes after a scathing report into SEND provision by the county council in 2016, with major problems still identified in 2021. In the last week, this newspaper has spoken with families of SEND children who have shared their experience of the service in Suffolk.
This newspaper has been speaking with families of SEND children who have shared their experiences with the Suffolk program for the past week.
Repeated apologies, according to one parent, are “not good enough,” and their battle to get their son’s schooling in order was described as a “complete mess” by another.
In their resignation letter, the outgoing council members stated: “We have been focused on improving outcomes for children and families in Suffolk’s SEND service since our appointments two and a half years ago in 2021. It has become evident over the course of this week that our positions have become a distraction from this vital work.”
“The DfE and Ofsted have acknowledged improvements in the service, but the recent Ofsted report is incredibly disappointing. Nevertheless, we are committed to the council going above and beyond to give SEND children and their families the results and happy experience they deserve.”
“We continue to be adamant that the service has effectively undergone restructuring, that all of the reforms outlined in the independent study have been implemented, and that notable advancements have been made.
“The senior leadership team of the staff is being replaced, more than 1,200 new SEND places have been funded with over £60 million, £4.4 million more will be added to SEND services in our proposed 2024–2025 budget, and more educational psychologists have been hired and are undergoing training, among other noteworthy issues.
“It has been a pleasure to serve in your administration, but we feel that in order to guarantee that the emphasis is where we all want it to be—on enhancing the lives of Suffolk’s children and families—we should step aside in order to prevent more distractions. For this reason, we are submitting our resignations from the positions to which we were appointed.
“We are extremely appreciative that we were able to provide assistance to the kids and people of Suffolk on behalf of
“I would like to thank Rachel, James, and Chris for their personal commitment and hard work over the past two and a half years,” stated Suffolk County Council chairman Matthew Hicks. They have demonstrated an enormous commitment to enhancing SEND services.
“I would like to wish them well in their future work and reiterate Suffolk County Council’s absolute commitment to ensuring more young people and their families receive the support they need and deserve.”
With the “imminent” hiring of a new executive director of children and young people services, Suffolk County Council announced that a reorganization of senior officer leadership in children’s services is under progress.
Late last year, the executive directors of people services and children and young people for the local council departed.
