Stratford on Avon Labour’s Vice Chair, Julie Fewins has expressed horror at the statements made by Cllr Jeff Morgan of Warwickshire County Council during a recent meeting about children with special educational needs. In the recent Children & Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Morgan (Conservative, Bulkington & Whitestone) suggested that some children with SEND may need “some form of strict correction”!
Responding to the comments from Stratford on Avon Labour Party, Vice Chair Julie Fewins said “I have been a teacher for 28 years and statements like this from the conservative administration make me wonder if they have ever spent a day in a school with any children who have SEN needs?”
“Are such out of date opinions really still circulating in society? It is even worse that they come from the Party in charge of the County Council and the Country. However, Cllr Morgan is not alone in the Conservative ranks. When Conservative Cllr Brian Hammersley (Conservative, Bedworth Central) was incredulous at the rise in need, and asked if SEND is caused by ‘something in the water’, you know that public services are being run by people who don’t understand children and inclusion.”
Julie continued, “I feel that both councillors owe an apology to the parents of SEND children across the County and to the dedicated and hardworking staff who support children with SEND”.