A survey on SEND in Blackpool - lend your voice to it

In my first year as your MP I've visited nearly every school across Blackpool South and one issue has come up more than any other - support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND.

- Chris Webb MP for Blackpool South

Everywhere I go teachers tell me the same story. They're doing their best but they're stretched thin and parents are fighting for basic help their kids are legally entitled to.

Nearly 16 per cent of pupils in Blackpool's mainstream schools receive SEND support, higher than the national average, and the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans has almost doubled since 2019.

But only 27 per cent of those plans are completed within the 20-week deadlinewell below the national figure of 46 per cent.

Behind those statistics are families struggling through months of uncertainty, endless paperwork and constant worry.