MP Calls for Increase in Special Educational Needs Support Across South Cotswolds

Roz Savage MP is working with councils to improve services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. 

The underfunding of SEND support under successive Governments has caused a national crisis – particularly pronounced in rural areas such as South Cotswolds. Mainstream schools lack the funding to meet their students’ needs, while the lack of transport provision across the county boundary has left many families unable to find transport to get their children to the specialist facilities that they should be attending. Levels of provision differ between Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, leaving many local families struggling, who then reach out to Roz to request support. 

Reflecting on SEND issues in the South Cotswolds, Roz said

‘Since being elected in July 2024, I’ve been involved with a growing number of complex and often heartbreaking cases involving children, parents, carers, schools, and support services. The system is not working, and families are having to fight far too hard just to get an education for their child.  The Liberal Democrats have a strong track record of supporting children with SEND – we introduced Education, Health and Care Plans while in Government in 2014 – but we need to go further to tackle this national crisis and provide better outcomes for children with SEND across South Cotswolds and the whole country.’ 

Roz has been invited to attend a constituent’s SEND tribunal hearing this week, where she will hear and see first-hand the challenges families face in securing education that can meet their children’s needs. Commenting on their struggle, a parent told Roz 

'Parents of children with special needs are fighting tirelessly just to secure an education equivalent to that of their neurotypical or less-complex peers—often at the cost of their own wellbeing. Instead of dedicating our time to nurturing and caring for our children, we are buried in paperwork, appeals, evidence gathering, and constant advocacy. This is not what support should look like. Our children deserve better. They are being let down by a system that is fragmented, under-resourced, and unjust.'  

Roz has pledged to work with the new Lib Dem administrations in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to remove cross-county complications and improve transport provision for children with SEND in both counties. 

Roz encourages any parents in her South Cotswolds constituency experiencing difficulties in obtaining SEND support to reach out to her office via the following address: roz.savage.mp@parliament.uk 

ENDS