Statement from Councillor Marian James regarding a recent update from Sutton Parents Forum

Councillor Marian James, Chair of Sutton Council’s People Committee, said:

“In Sutton, we are collectively ambitious for our children. Together we want to provide them with the best chances to achieve their best outcomes in life, whatever their starting point, and prepare them effectively for adulthood.

“The majority of Sutton’s children and young people receive high-quality education and support. Young people gain excellent results at all stages of their schooling, and their parents and carers have every reason to be rightly proud of their achievements.

“We know that for a small number of families we need to improve the support we offer children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This has been identified by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and we know parents and carers share their concerns. We responded to the issues they raised, and have a plan in place that is leading to the improvements we need. We are continuing to work with parents and carers to address their concerns they rightly raise. Our plans have been accepted by Ofsted and CQC and are monitored by the Department for Education and NHS England at meetings including the Sutton Parents Forum. We are working with our health and school partners to make the changes as quickly as possible.

“We currently support 1,700 local children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans. As a percentage of our young people population we support many more children than other boroughs.

"We always value the feedback we receive from Sutton Parents Forum. The Forum plays an important role in representing the views of local parents and carers and in helping us continue to improve. We welcome the statement and contributions of the Forum and will ensure they have input into any new documents as part of the process.

"We are exploring opportunities to improve to ensure we make the most of both the expertise and passion within the borough, as well as any external support we may need. We will continue to work on these plans to reassure all parents and carers in Sutton. We will provide a response to a recent petition on Thursday 4 July.

"Until that time I want to thank the Forum, parents and carers and partners in the borough for sharing our steadfast commitment to improve and will continue to keep residents updated."