Speeches by Asato.

“Clare, you made the point that you think, as a home schooler, that the local authority should not be allowed to enter the private home. Do you think that there are parents who might be home schooling as a cover for abuse? How would we balance the important protections that the state needs to provide for those children,…”

“I also want to ask about parents who are not providing the education that their child needs, particularly in terms of safeguarding and prevention of abuse. Do you think that the measures in the Bill will help to identify and prevent the abuse of children?”

“A number of you mentioned SENCOs. How do you think that there could be enhanced support for SENCOs to help them fulfil their roles?”

“Katie, we know that Kids has developed a SEND community navigator model to support parents and carers of children with SEND to navigate SEN support systems. Could you expand on how this model works and its potential to be replicated or scaled up? Could you also tell us how health services interrelate with this model, p…”

“Amanda, could you talk us through some effective and actionable ways to simplify the SEND system, ensuring that it is more straightforward for parents, carers and young people to navigate?”

“Not that long.”

“How can the current allocations and distribution of schools block funding and high needs funding be improved to ensure it effectively meets the diverse and evolving needs of children and young people with SEND? What measures could be implemented to promote greater transparency, flexibility and equity in funding?”

“Many parents and carers that I talk to worry that the people around their children at school do not necessarily have the knowledge or skills or training to be able to effectively support them. How can the existing training system be enhanced to better equip teachers to support students with SEND and improve their educa…”

“A number of you mentioned SENCOs. How do you think that there could be enhanced support for SENCOs to help them fulfil their roles?”

“We have covered some of this already, but what improvements and safeguards can be implemented to ensure that accountability pressures on schools and local authorities do not lead to exclusionary practices, but instead promote inclusive approaches that support the needs of children with SEND?”

“My next question is about some Ofsted reforms so it might be worth merging the two, and obviously they are looking at new inclusion criteria. Quite a number of people, and evidence that we have seen, suggest that a narrowing of the curriculum, at the same time as very strict behaviour policies, has led to a natural exc…”

“Katie, we know that Kids has developed a SEND community navigator model to support parents and carers of children with SEND to navigate SEN support systems. Could you expand on how this model works and its potential to be replicated or scaled up? Could you also tell us how health services interrelate with this model, p…”

“Amanda, could you talk us through some effective and actionable ways to simplify the SEND system, ensuring that it is more straightforward for parents, carers and young people to navigate?”

“We have covered some of this already, but what improvements and safeguards can be implemented to ensure that accountability pressures on schools and local authorities do not lead to exclusionary practices, but instead promote inclusive approaches that support the needs of children with SEND?”

“My next question is about some Ofsted reforms so it might be worth merging the two, and obviously they are looking at new inclusion criteria. Quite a number of people, and evidence that we have seen, suggest that a narrowing of the curriculum, at the same time as very strict behaviour policies, has led to a natural exc…”

“Not that long.”

“How can the current allocations and distribution of schools block funding and high needs funding be improved to ensure it effectively meets the diverse and evolving needs of children and young people with SEND? What measures could be implemented to promote greater transparency, flexibility and equity in funding?”

“Many parents and carers that I talk to worry that the people around their children at school do not necessarily have the knowledge or skills or training to be able to effectively support them. How can the existing training system be enhanced to better equip teachers to support students with SEND and improve their educa…”

“One of my constituents, a domestic abuse survivor, has had all contact with her children removed, as well as her domestic abuse claim rejected without evidence. She has now had to pay not just for contact visits but monthly drug tests, when her drug use was not proven at all, making it completely unaffordable for her t…”

“I would like to declare an interest in that I worked for Barnardo’s prior to being elected to Parliament.”