Protesters will be making a stand in Darlington this week to convey their anger and disappointment at the authority's handling of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.

Parents and carers will gather outside Darlington Town Hall at 10am on Wednesday (April 26) to have their say on the issues surrounding their children’s education and care.

Issues include the number of spaces available at special schools in the area not meeting demand which, for some families, leads to children being out of school for months, having a knock-on effect with parents having to miss work during a cost-of-living crisis to look after them.

One mother, Hollie Richardson, who is a co-organiser of the protest, is disappointed at the local authority’s slow progress in recognising the importance of finding suitable schooling for children with complex needs in Darlington.

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Ms Richardson told The Northern Echo: “I know the fault doesn’t lie with the council entirely, it comes from further up, but our voices need to be heard.

“There just isn’t enough provision for children in this town who have complex needs. We shouldn’t have to send them miles and miles away just to go to school.

“Luckily, my son is in school now but last year he was out of school from April to September, and I don’t want other parents to have to go through the stress of all that.

“More needs to be done, especially for secondary school-aged children.

“The council can only do so much, and we’ve invited them to stand with us.”

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Aggrieved parents will be highlighting issues they have been facing with getting their children the support they need.

The issues are not exclusive to Darlington, as many of these protests have been happening across the country over the last few months.

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A Darlington Borough Council officer said: “We are working hard to implement improvements to the special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) provision system in Darlington following the Local Area Inspection in January 2022.

“A Written Statement of Action coproduced with families, schools and health services is in place with ambitious targets to improve outcomes for young people – to view this visit, www.livingwell.darlington.gov.uk

“We are taking steps to increase specialist places for young people with SEND, including our successful bid to the Department for Education (DfE) for a new purpose build Special Free School for the town. The council will continue to work with local schools to ensure more consistent and effective support for pupils with SEND.

“Transforming a programme as complex as the delivery of SEND services for children and young people is never quick or easy, and we recognise that not every family’s experience is where we would like it to be.

“We will continue to work closely with the Darlington Parent Carer Forum to ensure that we respond to families’ concerns.”