A chance to smooth out the complexities of SEN

Wings is an example of the big society and its potential problems.

Sheila's perspective working with parents who wrestle with the special educational needs (SEN) system has been salutary. As director of children's services, I fondly thought that our systems were straightforward, and that all we needed was better communication to make everything work smoothly. The truth is that many parents just do not understand the processes and criteria used by professionals. This is perhaps most obvious when parents who have learned to navigate the SEN seas over 15 or more years find themselves in the uncharted waters of the broad category known as "learners with learning difficulties or disabilities" at age 16 or 18, with different policies, funding arrangements and agencies. So parents have to start from scratch, and they cannot understand why. And neither can I.

There is also the underlying challenge that assessments of additional needs can never be completely objective, leading to inevitable differences between professionals. And where funding and support depend on assessed needs, there will always be an incentive in one direction or another.

Hopefully, the forthcoming SEN green paper will kick-start a fundamental review of how we assess and meet children's additional needs. But if all we get is some well-intentioned tinkering around the edges, then the system will become even more complex.

Of course, additional needs is an area with powerful lobby groups, and families with their individual stories. But we need a fundamental rethink to reform the whole system so it works better for all children and young people and their parents. I hope that the green paper will lead to a proper debate about how we can best meet children's additional needs from birth through to adulthood.

John Freeman CBE is a former director of children's services and now a freelance consultant Read his blog at cypnow.co.uk/freemansthinking.