A CAMPAIGN group has said it is pleased that the council has released its refused Safety Valve plan, but that it is ‘alarmed’ at what was proposed.

As reported, BCP Alliance for Children and Schools (BCPACS) sent BCP Council a letter threatening legal action if the plan was not released.

The local authority has now released the plan after it was refused by the Department for Education.

BCPACS founder, Rachel Filmer, said the group was pleased that the plan has been published after calling for transparency in their campaign.

“We hope this is the start of improved communication around SEND services, and urge other local authorities to do the same,” she said.

“Due to the lack of consultation and transparency in Safety Valve agreements nationally, parents and carers are kept in the dark about the impact of these plans on their child’s future.

“We’ll continue to challenge these secretive schemes, which encourage unlawful actions in the name of cost avoidance.”

Bournemouth Echo: Protest organiser Rachel Filmer

Campaigner and council petitioner Adam Sofianos said the refused plan ‘confirmed many of the fears’ held by campaigners about Safety Valve across the country.

“We welcome BCP’s improved transparency, but we’re alarmed at the details set out in the plan,” he said. “This is a plan to manage spending, not to improve services. It targets reductions in crucial EHCPs (education, health and care plans), and reductions in needs assessments.

“Yet SEND children cannot be properly supported at school until their needs are assessed.

“The plan includes a target to cease more than 300 plans this year and focuses policies on specific groups such as over-16s and under-5s. This is based entirely on quotas, with no reference to children’s needs.”

Bournemouth Echo: The protestors gathered outside the BCP Council annex ahead of a meeting of the Children’s

The pair said they are increasingly concerned about what is to come, as the council remains in negotiations with the DfE. “Local authorities are being asked to solve a problem that is not of their making,” Rachel said.

“But statutory duties cannot be met while working to targets, financial or otherwise.

“These blanket policies will increase unlawful actions. Vulnerable children, their families and schools will pay the price for years to come.”

Adam added: “BCP recently received a critical Statutory Direction from the Department for Education, and the DfE’s Improvement Advisor John Coughlan is now leading SEND strategy. But schools and SEND families have expressed great concern about what this takeover means. Is BCP improving services, or saving money?

“BCP’s SEND services are on a cliff-edge – with the future of thousands of children at stake. We call on the Council to publish its new SEND Improvement Plan, SEND Strategy and Inclusion Plan in full. And we repeat our call for thorough open consultation with all stakeholders.”