I was absolutely delighted to receive confirmation from Kent County Council (KCC) that the new 250-place Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) free school in Swanley — which I campaigned hard to secure — will now go ahead.
Funding for the school was approved in 2023, but its future was thrown into doubt when the Government offered Kent County Council the choice to either build the school or take the cash funding to redirect elsewhere within SEND provision. I am very pleased that KCC stood firm and has now confirmed that the school will be delivered.
This is excellent news for local families. Alongside the 105 additional places I supported at Broomhill Bank School and the further 72 places at Parkwood Hall Co-operative Academy, this represents a significant expansion of specialist provision in our area and hopefully means far fewer parents will be forced to send their children long distances to access appropriate education.
Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities know better than anyone that the current system is under real strain, and increasing high-quality local provision is an essential step in addressing that pressure. In my surgeries, I regularly meet parents who are exhausted from fighting for the right support for their child. Too often they face long waits, inconsistent provision and a process that feels adversarial rather than supportive.
I welcome the fact that the Government is talking about reform. A stronger focus on early intervention, investment in speech and language therapy, and evidence-led packages of support are all sensible principles. If we can intervene earlier and more effectively, we reduce distress for families and improve long-term outcomes for children.
But principles are not enough and despite the statement from the Secretary of State last week in the Commons, there is still very little clarity about what the Government’s reforms will mean in practice.
Parents deserve clear answers. Who will qualify for which level of support? What exactly will be provided under each tier? What outcomes are expected? And crucially, what funding will follow the child?
Ministers have also repeatedly failed to clarify whether any existing Education, Health and Care Plans will be removed from children as part of these reforms. For many families, an EHCP is not just paperwork — it is the legal guarantee that their child will receive the support they need. No child who currently relies on that protection should see it quietly withdrawn through administrative redesign.
Without credible plans, there is a real risk that reform could create further uncertainty rather than the stability families are crying out for.
I will continue to engage constructively with Ministers on SEND reform, as well as KCC to ensure that the new school is opened as soon as possible. Now we have the green light I want spades in the ground so that children and parents across Sevenoaks can start benefitting from the services sooner rather than later.
