Teacher Strikes: 'We're at crisis point in the SEND community', says Rutland mum

Teacher strikes could have a "catastrophic" impact on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), a former special educational needs worker says.

Toni Shahrami-Niya, from Rutland, has four children who all have special educational needs; she says SEND provision is already thinly-stretched without staff taking action:

'We're at crisis point as it is in the SEND community, and this (strikes) would be catastrophic I think. You'd like to hope that there would be some form of protection around the staff that work directly with SEND children.'

'Obviously from our children's point of view - strikes would be very difficult for them to handle because they need consistency in the people that're around them. That's really important, for all children with SEND, for their wellbeing.'

Toni, who supports industrial action, says teacher walkouts could bring more disruption to learning, but that there needs to be more support for SEND pupils:

'There's a lack of places to send children, appropriate places, the lack of funding that's being put in by the Government, the lack of training - our children are not getting what they need.'

'Stressed staff leads to absences and illnesses, so there's a lot of inconsistency around anyway,'

Rutland County Council said:

"Individual schools are responsible for managing the impact of any strike action and making sure that children’s education needs continue to be met."

"While Rutland has seen an increase in demand for SEND provision, the Council has invested significantly in expanding local provision across our secondary schools and is working through the Rutland Supporting Schools Partnership to support inclusion practice across Rutland’s education sector."

"The Council recently underwent a rigorous Peer Challenge to assess the strength of local services that support children with SEND. This process identified SEND practice in Rutland as some of the best in the region and beyond."

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

“While I welcome the outcome from the National Association of Headteachers not to strike, it is deeply disappointing for children and parents that NEU teacher members have voted in favour of walking out.

“Talks with union leaders are ongoing and any strike action from one union will have a damaging impact on pupils’ education and wellbeing, particularly following the disruption experienced over the past two years.

"We have already met the unions’ request for an additional £2 billion in school funding, which will take real terms spending on schools to its highest level in history."

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• special educational needs and disabilities