Last week I had the great pleasure to attend the grand opening of the new Hawthorns School site in Mottram. This is an excellent new facility and much needed places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The new school has 4 early years classrooms, 12 purpose built classrooms for pupils with autism, 9 purpose built classrooms for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, grass and 3G football pitches, a library, family room and more. I know that staff, pupils and parents have eagerly awaited it’s opening last September.

I am always very impressed by the Hawthorns team and on previous visits to the old school sites it was plain to see how, despite their expertise and enthusiasm, they struggled with space and why they needed the new school to bring the main site and the 3 satellite sites all under one roof to provide the bespoke provision that their pupils need.

This is a huge step forward in SEND provision in Tameside, but it has to be the first of many as the local authority rebuilds trust after a damning SEND Ofsted report. Nationally, where the National Audit Office has described SEND provision as in crisis and even the Conservatives themselves have accepted that they did not do enough to support SEND children, it is also important that we do more.

Last year, only 20% of pupils with SEND met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 level. There is consensus across trusts, local authorities, government, and, most importantly, families, that the current approach to SEND is not working. Without the right support, children are falling behind, impacting their future life chances.

That is why I am so pleased that as a Labour Government we have announced this week that SEND provision is going to be reformed with a shift from a focus on specialist schools like Hawthorns to supporting more SEND pupils in mainstream schools. To this end, my colleague Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson, announced this week a £740 million capital investment to create more specialist places in mainstream schools. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, and to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support.

There will always be a place for schools like Hawthorns to provide for the young people with the most complex needs, but these reforms will take the pressure off specialist schools and provide better life chances for SEND pupils.