A COUNTY councillor is calling for more special education provision in her area after revealing her young son used to travel more than 30 miles for school.
Cllr Angie Scott, who represents Prudhoe North, was speaking after the council published its first-ever SEND forward plan, which looked at the level of need across the county.
She explained the distances some people were having to travel from Prudhoe, in the south west of Northumberland.
She said: "I don’t think the council have fully taken into consideration the distance children have to travel. Young people from Prudhoe have to travel up to Morpeth, Blyth and Cramlington. I just don’t think it’s right.
"My son has autism, and from year four he travelled to Collingwood School in Morpeth – a distance of 35 miles. He now travels to Cramlington.
"He doesn’t have local friends or groups that he attends. He doesn’t have a voice in our community.
"Other parents in Prudhoe have to go to Blyth. Parents are expected to put their kids in a taxi. It’s too far for anyone."
However, the report identified that south west Northumberland’s need was being met by exisiting provision – something that Cllr Scott disagrees with.
She continued: "The council said there’s no need for children in the west because they’re saying that mainstream schools are managing and I don’t think that’s true. I think schools are struggling.
"The council spent a lot of time working on the inequalities summit, but it is proven that when your children travels out of the area it fuels social inequality."
SEND children in the south west of the county are served by Hexham Priory School, which was rated as outstanding in 2018.
However, Cllr Derek Kennedy is someone who knows the school well – his wife is a govenor and his son has attended for years – and he says the school is full.
Cllr Kennedy, who represents Hexham West on the county council, agreed with Cllr Scott’s assessment that more SEND provision was needed in the west of the county.
He said: "Looking at the requirements in the west, my view as a father of a SEND child and being a service user of SEND since he was very young, the idea we don’t need any more provision is a load of rubbish.
"The service provided by the Priory in Hexham is outstanding, but it has been full. The demands are huge and it has always been full. We have people coming in from Tynedale as well as County Durham, Newcastle and North Tyneside. They come from far and wide into Hexham Priory School.
"I’ve been campaigning alongside (Hexham East councillor) Suzanne Fairless-Aitken for an expansion at the school to provide more capacity and provide a bigger service. It’s certainly necessary – everyone can see the demand on special educational needs have increased very significantly year on year and it’s an exponential growth.
"When I was at school, there were people who needed it but who just got lost."
The council’s SEND forward plan – which Cllr Kennedy praised as “absolutely essential” – showed that the number of children requiring SEN education had doubled in the past nine years, with a further increase of 700 children over the next few years.
Cllr Kennedy also spoke about the difficulty of being an SEN parent, particularly when some pupils travel in from so far away.
He continued: "I have heard of individual cases of people travelling many miles. That’s just not acceptable.
"I walk my son to school, but all the other kids are bussed in so you don’t get that school gate relationship. My daughter was in mainstream school and some of the friendships I made have lasted longer than the ones she made with her peers.
"It’s very isolating. You don’t have that support you get from neighbours etcetera. because people live all over the place and it’s not easy to just reach out to people."
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Cllr Guy Renner Thompson, Northumberland County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said the council would act to increase provision in the west if there was evidence it was necessary.
He said: "The main analysis shows that there isn’t a huge need in the west – the main need is in the Blyth area, which isn’t surprising as that’s where most of the people in the county live.
"I know councillors have been saying they want more provision in the west. That’s why we have done this SEND place planning If the evidence shows that we need more places in the west we will do it.
"We will never be able to build enough special school places for all the SEND children. The projected increase is very large.
"Our main aim is to bring in as many mainstream schools as possible and support our exisiting schools, but where there is an evident need.
"It depends on the child. A lot of children will benefit from being in a mainstream class, whereas some have very specialist needs that require small classes, one-to-one teaching and specialist equipment.
"It doesn’t matter if a child is in a mainstream school or an SEND school, we have a responsibility to give them the best start in life."
Cllr Renner Thompson also agreed that no child should have to travel huge distances for school.
He added: "We want to stop that. That’s why we’re going to have more places at Alnwick and Berwick."
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