​Thank you, and thank you for allowing me to return to the Council Chambers, this time to address the Children's Services and Education Scrutiny Board Committee.

Despite many councillors’ concerns about parents raising anything other than positive stories, as raised at the scrutiny meeting — despite bringing my child's situation to full Council two months ago — my child finds himself in a worse situation, with SMC still not allowing my child access to any education at all.

Obviously this is unlawful, unacceptable, and could be perceived as discrimination.

I would like to highlight this evening the amount of funding SMC are wasting on continuing to fund provision that children have been unable to access for many months, in some cases years. An Education, Health and Care Plan is a legal document that, by law, entitles children and young people to access support in education.

Instead of ensuring that provision outlined in an EHCP is provided for an individual, SMC consistently acts with disregard to law and legislation, resulting in many families having no option but to take SMC to tribunal to ensure their child or young person has access to the provision stated in their EHC Plan.

Every year, SMC wastes tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of pounds in public funding by forcing families to go to tribunal to get their child an education. In the vast majority of cases, the judge rules in favour of the child, forcing SMC to act lawfully. This puts families in unnecessary situations where they have to go to court to get what the majority of families in Solihull take for granted: access to an education. Sorry, I wrote on the wrong piece of paper — I do apologise.

So, in February 2025, I submitted my official complaint to the school named on my child's EHC Plan. I also sent a copy to Ofsted, the DfE, NSPCC, LADO, Solihull Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, and many others. I have not yet received any acknowledgement or response from any SMC department. Many parents, carers, and advocates have been told that SMC only deal with familial safeguarding and not contextual safeguarding — which is when children are suffering abuse outside of the home, at school for example.

I received a letter from Ofsted to advise me differently. Unfortunately, since May 2025, the Director of Children's Services has ignored my attempts at discussing the letter I received from Ofsted. Who in the Borough of Solihull can help children with abuse outside of the familial home? I am still awaiting a response to an email I sent to CEP in February 2025. Sorry. My family have been referred to Children’s Services on a number of occasions by schools for my child's behaviour displayed at school. This is a common tactic used by schools in Solihull.

At a previous scrutiny meeting, there was discussion about how most mass referrals come from schools — and many referrals. My child was placed on a Child in Need register. The two identified needs of my child were:

1.Support to access an education.
2.Access to appropriate support for the trauma they have experienced in education.

Recently my family were told by SMC that the Child in Need case is closed, as Children’s Services don’t deal with education, and they also don’t deal with supporting children to access appropriate, trauma-informed support.

It makes me question why my child was put on a Child in Need plan which Children’s Services could never assist with. Again, it is a waste of public funds and social workers’ time on issues that they could never actually help with.

Thank you all for listening.

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