Susan Liverman, a member of the Not Fine in School delegation, at a key meeting inside Parliament. The roundtable focused on how to better support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Parents, educators, and school district and government officials came together to address pressing topics around absenteeism and student expulsion. Advocating for the issues children living in these circumstances have been going through.
She has a campaign called Not Fine in School that assists families whose kids struggle in school. Liverman’s involvement highlights the need for deep collaboration between diverse stakeholders, experts, and communities in pursuit of solutions that benefit everyone. That in-person meeting included a day of discussion between top representatives from different parent groups, schools, and charter organizations. Teachers from Lodge Park Academy and Red Kite Special Academy in Corby took part. Interestingly, the University of Bedfordshire was there too, furthering the SCIE workshop that had helped bring SEND issues to the fore.
Since in 2015, Paul Meadows started SENDS 4 DADS. He wanted to offer practical advice and funding opportunities to fathers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Since the early days of the pandemic, Meadows has noticed that SENDS 4 Dads has become “inundated.” This reflects a tremendous increase in demand for help from our community. That’s a message he’d like to get out to more Members of Parliament (MPs). His goal is to shed light on his real life experiences of raising children with SEND.
The purpose of the roundtable meeting was to figure out how to tackle exclusion, a major concern that impacts countless children. Liverman articulated the meeting’s goals, stating, “We wanted to focus on solutions around exclusion, and we certainly met that objective.” She emphasized the value of involving those closest to the challenges—parents and professionals—who can offer practical solutions based on their experiences.
We’re looking to hear Liverman’s insights on what makes engagement effective, and why it’s so crucial in discussions around climate equity.
“It was really important… it has made me more engaged.” – Susan Liverman
The commitment to continued engagement and collaboration was clear, as agreements were made to reconvene in the fall. Liverman sounded a hopeful note about the perspective they had gathered from these meetings. They will be critical in ensuring information flows back to Westminster and the Department of Education.
Meadows encouraged continued advocacy efforts, saying that representatives should “come down [to Parliament] again and keep doing this to get the momentum.” His rallying cry is a sign of the collective resolve among action takers to continue squeezing the political establishment until SEND-related concerns are addressed.
