In Spring and Summer 2021, Paul and Laura from Children’s Quarter met with groups of parents and community workers who were concerned about improving the Local Offer for children and young people with SEND in Birmingham. They recorded the conversations with the permission of the participants and from those recordings have produced a set of stories. We’re publishing these stories now to highlight the reality of how the system can treat the most vulnerable children; the struggle parents face; the shortcomings of the Local Offer for disabled and vulnerable children; and the value of school-community partnerships which can support SEND children through transitions which otherwise tend to be frequent, drawn out and damaging.
Participants words have been edited to a limited extent including as indicated by the way the stories are punctuated, but the stories have not been changed in any material way other than through the use of initials in order to avoid naming individuals.
Story 1 A Hellish Journey…
Story 2: I Couldn’t Believe There Were No Resources…
Story 3: The Shame of Seeing Resources Wasted…
Story 4: We Need to Know How Many Unlawful Exclusions There Are…
Story 5: There is No One to Help You…
Next story in the series – coming tomorrow.