Darlington SEND pupils wait more than three years for autism diagnosis
Children in a borough are waiting up to three and a half years to be diagnosed for autism and ADHD, as well as accessing therapy, an inspection has found.The findings come from a review of special education needs and disability (SEND) services in Darlington by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).It found Darlington Borough Council and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which are responsible for planning and commissioning the services, had improved SEND provision since a previous report in 2022.Levi Buckley, chief delivery officer for the ICB, said he was pleased progress had been recognised and acknowledged the work needed to "develop the diagnostic service offer".
The review found there were "inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people" across the SEND services in Darlington, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Health officials have been told to create a strategic action plan in response to the inspection.
'Frustrating process'
There was a lack of a defined process to assess and support those with a learning disability, according to the report, meaning it was difficult for families and professionals to navigate what support was available.Some also experienced delays in the delivery of some health services, including trying to access home equipment. "These delays and complicated service specifications can be frustrating for families to navigate," the report said.The review, which was carried out in November, found the partnership's leaders worked closely to improve provision.It added children and young people in care who had SEND were successfully prepared for adulthood.Labour's Nick Wallis, cabinet member for children and young people, said the report showed services had continued to improve.He added: "This is thanks to the hardworking and committed staff working across the partnership and the local children and families who we listen to and work with to develop services and plans."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Education Secretary unveils £1.7million boost for pupils with special needs in win for The Sun's Give It Back campaign
THE Sun's Give It Back campaign was hailed by the Education Secretary yesterday, as she unveiled a £1.7million boost for pupils with special needs. Funds announced by Bridget Phillipson allow up to 4,000 schools to borrow tech such as reading pens and iPads. 2 2 The 'lending libraries' pilot will cover 32 local authorities, giving schools access to devices tailored to pupils' needs. Reading pens scan and vocalise text, while tablets help non-verbal students communicate with images. In school trials, 86 per cent of staff saw behavioural improvements. It came as figures showed the number of kids with Education, Health and Care Plans — which detail extra supports needed by pupils — surged by 11 per cent to 638,700. Our campaign calls on the Government to give funding to council budgets for social care and support for disabled children. Ms Phillipson said too many were not having their needs identified early enough. She added: 'We inherited a SEND system on its knees, and at the heart of these figures are families fighting for support that should just be readily available. 'Too many children are not having their needs identified at an early enough stage, creating a vicious cycle of overwhelmed local services and children's support needs escalating to crisis point. 'We're improving things right now and will break this vicious cycle with wide-ranging reform.' Ms Phillipson said extra funding in schools — such as for wheelchair ramps — was 'supporting the goals of The Sun's Give it Back campaign'.
ITV News
9 hours ago
- ITV News
Lack of SEND provision is one of most common complaints received by MPs, an ITV News survey shows
The lack of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision across England is one of the most common complaints in MP's inboxes, a survey by ITV News can reveal. In an anonymous survey sent to all MPs, 70% of the 85 respondents said issues related to special educational needs and disabilities were now among the top five queries from constituents. In addition, 62% said SEND was coming up more than twice a week in their inboxes – with 17% saying it was now a daily occurrence. The MPs who responded identified issues related to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP's) – the legal document outlining the necessary support for SEND children - as the most reoccurring complaint, followed by concerns over appropriate school places and lack of support from local authorities. ITV News' findings come as the government is preparing to reform SEND support, with an update expected in the autumn in the school's white paper. Demand for SEND provisions has surged in recent years. More than 1.7 million pupils in England now have special educational needs, up 5.6 per cent from last year. Meanwhile, a growing number of parents are having to fight local authorities for support, with 24,000 SEND tribunals recorded in 2024/5 - a 36 per cent increase from the last financial year. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says Labour inherited 'a SEND system on its knees" with too many children "not having their needs identified at an early enough stage, creating a vicious cycle of overwhelmed local services and children's support needs escalating to crisis point." According to Department for Education statistics published on Thursday, the number of children with EHCPs increased to increased to 638,700 - as of January 2025, meanwhile only 46% of plans were issued within the required 20 week deadline. Government officials told ITV News there remains an active debate about the implementation of EHCPs. 'It currently takes hundreds of bits of paperwork and long delays for a child simply to be advised to see a speech therapist - there needs to be a more efficient way,' one source said. ITV News understands there are concerns within the Department for Education about how to pitch any possible reforms to parents - with officials acknowledging many have had to fight 'tooth and nail' for the little support they have. Following reports that changes to support are under discussion, a petition urging the government to 'retain the legal right to assessment and support in education for children with SEND' has already surpassed 100,000 signatures. We've spent the past few weeks travelling across the country, meeting with MPs and their constituents to understand the scale of the crisis – and it's clear frustration among parents is widespread. 'Every single week, I get parents approaching me with their children, unable to get EHCPs, not getting the support they need in schools,' explained Alex Ballinger, the newly elected Labour MP for Halesowen, in the West Midlands. 'I think it's probably the largest amount of casework of any type of support that people come to me for." ITV News attended a SEND roundtable with Mr Ballinger, where he heard the concerns from parents and teachers. The MP says these roundtables help inform his discussions with ministers in the Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care, as they continue to work on reforming the sector. In recent months, the government has ramped up funding to increase inclusivity in state schools. 'As part of our Plan for Change, we already taking the first steps, including more early intervention across speech and language, ADHD and autism to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools,' a Department for Education spokesperson said. But Mr Ballinger argued under the current system 'there will never be enough money to make it work in the way that it should be." His constituent, Natalie Child argues that reform is already too late for her ten-year-old daughter Amelia. Amelia is autistic and is currently within a state mainstream primary school, but her mother is struggling to obtain an appropriate secondary school place. 'When she first started at her primary school, she was completely non-verbal, completely uncoordinated,' Natalie explained. 'But she has come on so much under their guidance. The teachers on the ground have been good with her, but she won't get that support going up into secondary school.' Natalie is waiting for an already delayed EHCP review from her local authority and says she has had little communication with their caseworker. 'SEND schools have turned her down because they've said she's not got moderate or severe learning difficulties,' she added. 'So she's not disabled enough for a SEND school, but she can't cope in mainstream and it will restrict her academically.' Natalie is doubtful that any changes will come in time to benefit her daughter. 'Her school placement is here and now," she insisted."Not in a year, not in five years. It's here and now.' Many families have told ITV News they feel their children have been failed by a multitude of public bodies from councils to schools. But Alberto Costa, Conservative MP for South Leicestershire, argues the role played by GPs and NHS trusts also requires further scrutiny. 'We're not reaching breaking point. We've long passed breaking point,' he argued. 'The system has totally failed. Children are being referred by their GPS for assessment and never receive an assessment.' Parents and MPs say the emotional impact of such delays on the family can't be underestimated. Stephanie Harris turned to her local MP – Liberal Democrat Monica Harding - last summer after struggling to obtain support for her nine-year-old son Austin who has dyslexia, dysgraphia and anxiety. 'I remember turning up to your (Monica's) office in tears and being at the point where I didn't feel like we could cope and go on as a family,' explained the mother of two. 'I think when you're at the point of applying for an EHCP, the child and the family are probably at their lowest because that's when their needs are highest, but they're not being met.' Austin remains enrolled at his local mainstream school, but last December Stephanie and the family made the difficult decision to remove him from the setting. 'It went a whole calendar year of struggling to get him into school. He was out of the classroom for a lot of the time. His distress levels were getting higher,' she explained. The process of obtaining an EHCP for Austin took more than 40 weeks – in the meantime Stephanie and the family have had to source alternative provisions for his education. 'It's been quite isolating. We missed out on a lot of family events. We've probably lost friends throughout the process," she said. "We've spent probably over £10,000 trying to get the right support in place, trying to advocate for Austin.' Surrey County Council has now agreed to fund an independent placement starting this September, but Stephanie like other parents, stressed that any SEND reform needed to put the needs of the children front and centre. 'I think the curriculum needs to be overhauled," she told ITV News. "I think they need to have different ways of assessing children even from a very, very young age in school. 'Taking away legal rights of parents is something that I worry about and a lot of people that I speak to within the SEND community really worry about.' Ms Harding, who represents the constituency of Esther and Walton, is among a handful of MPs – elected in July 2024 - who say they have been 'shining a light' on the challenges facing families. She is critical of what she describes as the 'adversarial' approach adopted by many councils . 'The local authority, whose statutory duty is to the child, have to be more open with the family and work with the family instead of against the family.' But her big concern is the cases that don't make their way to her inbox. 'These are the ones that we know about, the ones that come to my vast majority don't come to me,' she said. 'These are children that are dysregulated, being excluded from school, their life chances are going down the pan because they don't have support in place. So Stephanie is amazing, she's talking for a community, but behind her there are so many children that are missing out.'
ITV News
11 hours ago
- ITV News
Bereaved parents of 'kind' teenager Matthew Lock warn of ADHD and suicide links
ITV Granada Reports' correspondent Rob Smith has been speaking the parents of Matthew Lock. The family of a teenager who took his own life say it "kills them everyday" that they did not understand his "busy mind", as they issue a stark warning about the increased risks of addiction and suicide connected to ADHD. The parents of 19-year-old Matthew Lock say their son was an "incredible individual" who "wanted to make a change", but he struggled with the symptoms of his diagnosis before his death in 2023. They say Matthew, who appeared on ITV's This Morning as a technology reviewer, used alcohol and ketamine to try to ease his ADHD symptoms because medication did not agree with him. Richard and Christine Lock believe ADHD caused Matthew, who also had autism, to make an "impulsive" decision to take his own life, because he was "unable to regulate his emotions at certain times". "We know Matthew's decision was an impulse," Christine said. "We know he would want us to help stop others from making impulsive acts, causing devastation to families." What is ADHD and what are the symptoms? ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Around 1 in 20 children are estimated to be impacted by ADHD globally and, according to the NHS, symptoms of usually start before the age of 12. They involve a person's ability to pay attention to things, having high energy levels, and their ability to control their impulses. A child or young person may show signs of being inattentive, such as: being easily distracted finding it hard to listen to what people are saying or to follow instructions forgetting everyday tasks, like brushing their teeth or putting on socks They may show signs of being hyperactive and impulsive, including: having high energy levels fidgeting or tapping their hands and feet talking noisily feeling restless, or getting up and moving around when they're supposed to sit still finding it hard to wait their turn, or interrupting conversations His parents believe his death is directly linked to ADHD and are now part of an NHS task force trying to speed up diagnosis, improve treatment and raise awareness of its potential route to addiction and mental illness. The task force is also looking to improve NHS data and analyses on ADHD services, map out who provides ADHD services and how they are commissioned locally, and improving the way services are delivered. "It's very important that we make those changes in Matthew's name", Richard said. "ADHD can be an absolute superpower. They can think outside the box and be so creative. "We saw that superpower from Matthew, but the other side started to take over. That's the bit we didn't know about and that's what kills us everyday." Matthew's parents say they regret not understanding ADHD in more depth before their son's death and have urged other parents in a similar position to know the signs. Christine added: "It's the head full of thoughts and busy mind that you can't calm. I think going out and drinking did calm him. "It's understanding. Once you understand the ADHD brain, it's a fantastic. But if it's not understood it can cause problems." Speaking in March 2024, when the task force was announced, NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: "We have recognised that that more needs to be done to ensure people can get a timely diagnosis and importantly, that all of their needs are addressed. "This is a vital first step in helping us achieve real improvements in the ADHD services that the NHS and the independent sector provides.' Matthew's parents have also setup their own ADHD charity, dedicated to "education and raising awareness" as well as trying to ensure people are diagnosed and treated earlier in their lives.
