Priti Patel, Member of Parliament for Witham, recently held a meeting with Cllr Tony Ball, the Cabinet Member for Education at Essex County and Cllr Andrew Sheldon, the Deputy to discuss key issues surrounding Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision across Essex. The meeting was convened in response to a significant increase in EHCP demands for children across Essex.
During the meeting, Priti Patel MP highlighted the growing demand across the Witham constituency. These include waiting times for responses to ECHP applications and assessments, and the lack of specialist educational psychologists nationwide to work on EHCP assessments for children.
Priti Patel MP emphasized the importance of a collaborative approach, saying, “Children across Essex waiting for assessments must be supported throughout their education and that includes ensuring they are receiving education assessments in a timely way. I am committed to working closely with Essex County Council to address the pressures they are facing to ensure that local educational needs are being supported.”
