SEND Parents urged to write to councillor about the failures exposed by OFSTED of Havering’s Children’s Services.
Ruth Kettle-Frisby today writes in the Havering Daily on behalf of SEND parents across the borough.
I wrote to Councillor Oscar Ford about the failures exposed by OFSTED of Havering Children’s Services, and he stated: “Where parents have concerns, or feel that their issues have not been addressed, they can contact me.”
While recognising the inadequacy of this (please read on), we urge individual parents and carers who have been ignored and neglected to take Cllr Ford up on this, emailing him at: Councilloroscar.ford@havering.gov.uk,
Havering SEND community are dissatisfied with Mr Ford’s reiteration that ‘Havering has a good understanding of the areas for improvement’; this is not in the spirit of the questions, which focused on empathy and accountability.
Here are the requests I will raise this week in my discussion with the new SEND Communication and Engagement Officer, a temporary post, at Havering Council:
1. Will you be issuing apologies to children and theirparents and carers, including for the failure to meet two crucial deadlines for Post 16 placements, and the transition deadline for primary and senior school children (15th February)?
2. We would like to meet with Tara Geere please to discuss our concerns here.
3. Given the obvious conflict of interest, we ask Havering to divulge how much money it is spending on Child In Care placements, and the agencies that the money is being routed through.
4. What relevant training and employment expectations will be in place to contribute to the continuing education of staff in their duties of care?
5. Will you introduce robust procedures for maintaining ongoing accountability? There is a current tacit expectation on parents to escalate concerns themselves,where it is the council that is responsible for letting them down/ignoring them.
6. Will Children’s Services take a proactive and systemic, or a reactive and tokenistic role in rectifying existing individual wrongs, and preventing failures?
7. Will Havering pledge to protect the legal rights of children and carers while listening to and empowering each in fully accountable processes?
Ultimately, we feel that the cultural root and nature of the grave failings by Havering Children Services are being minimised by the council. I’m sad to report that SEND parentand carers still feel that they are not being listened to, and that relevant council reports, consultations and policies are unrepresentative of our lived experiences.
Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission
Thank you
Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!
We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.