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.

Councillor Denise Bickley, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services with responsibility for SEND, said the past six months have been focused on rebuilding relationships and laying the foundations for lasting change.

Addressing fellow councillors at a meeting of full council on Wednesday, December 4, Councillor Bickley said: ‘SEND is an incredibly complex area, and for too long the system has been failing families.

‘We 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’.

Councillors heard that since taking on the role, Councillor 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.

‘These conversations are never easy, but they are essential’, Councillor Bickley said.

‘We need all partners, education, health, and parents, to collaborate, listen, and work together.

‘There is an enormous amount of work to do, and significant risk if we don’t get it right.

‘But we are ready for the challenge.

‘Our goal is a sustainable, robust SEND system that works for every child and family in Devon’, Councillor Bickley added.

The pledge comes after the council’s member for finance has criticised the Government for failing to confront the growing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities in the Budget.

Devon carries one of the largest high needs deficits in the country.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has warned that these deficits are rising at an unsustainable rate, with national Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits forecast to reach £14 billion by 2028.

Following confirmation from the OBR that SEND is now the biggest destabilising force facing local government, Councillor James Buczkowski said ministers had again chosen delay over action.