Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News
Families across the South West are being urged to respond to proposed government changes to special educational needs support, amid concerns the reforms could weaken parents’ rights and make it harder to secure help for children.
Rebecca Roberts, an education law specialist and associate solicitor at Amicus Law, has raised concerns about proposals contained in the government’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reform white paper. The firm has branches in Ilminster, Martock and Yeovil.
She said: “On the surface, these reforms are being positioned as making the system less adversarial, but when you look more closely, they risk stripping away the very mechanisms that allow parents to challenge decisions and secure the right support for their children.”
Ms Roberts highlighted several areas of concern, including a move towards generic support packages rather than individualised provision, reduced powers for tribunals to name s…
