PARENTS of children with special needs are to stage a second protest over the council’s 'lack of action'.
CWAC SEND Accountability will stage a peaceful protest outside Cheshire West and Chester Council offices next month.
It comes following the publication of the campaign group’s summer survey results.
Only three of 135 respondents felt there had been ‘meaningful change’ since the group first met with council leader Louise Gittins, cabinet member for children and young people Adam Langan, and cabinet member for fairer futures Lisa Denson in March.
A spokesperson said: “There has been ample time for change but nothing has materialised.
“We are still being contacted daily by families in crisis, and we're still hearing exactly the same narrative of unlawful conduct, negligent communication, gaslighting, errors, data breaches, unlawful decision making, lying, and a lack of transparency.”
CWAC SEND Accountability was founded in March by a group of parents who felt they had been let down by the council’s special educational needs department.
Since then, they have repeatedly asked questions at council meetings and, in April, staged their first protest.
READ MORE: Protestors gather at council HQ over special needs education
More recently, the group asked 135 families in the wider SEN community about their current feelings towards and experiences of the council’s SEN team, using a Likert scale.
Fewer than 10 respondents agreed with statements such as ‘the SEN team is transparent’, ‘I trust the SEN team’, and ‘I feel supported by the SEN team’.
Just one survey participant felt the council was ‘doing everything they can to address the concerns raised by the SEN community’.
Meanwhile, the majority of respondents felt the SEN team had ‘lied to/deliberately misled’ them and that their family’s mental health had been negatively impacted.
“Our summer survey shows the experience of families is as awful as ever,” added the spokesperson.
“This narrative that ‘things are getting better’ is false. This narrative of 'it's not as bad as they are saying' is false. The reality is trauma, stonewalling, negligence, and unlawful conduct, that we see every day as a campaign - and the devastating impact this has on families.
“While this is the case, we will keep demanding accountability. We will not be ignored. We will not tolerate gaslighting. This is not a national issue. It is a localised cultural issue of negligence, apathy, and complacency.”
CWAC SEND Accountability’s next demonstration will take place at The Portal on Wellington Road in Ellesmere Port from 10.30am to 1.30pm on Friday, September 20.
“Our children deserve better,” the spokesperson said. “We demand better. We are not going anywhere. See you at The Portal.”
This announcement comes as the council confirmed it is creating an additional 125 school spaces for SEND children - 93 resourced provision and 32 special school.
The council is also opening the first CWAC special school satellite, which will be hosted within mainstream Upton-by-Chester High School.
CWAC has been approached for a comment on the summer survey and upcoming protest.
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