Cambs Lib Dem MPs Back Party Plan to Rescue SEND System

The motion, overwhelmingly approved by party members, sets out a range of policies aimed at transforming support for children with SEND. Key measures include mandatory SEND training for all teachers and education professionals to help improve inclusion in mainstream schools.

Having led a national debate in Parliament on the SEND crisis, the Cambridgeshire Lib Dem MPs highlighted the strain on local services, saying council budgets have been stretched beyond their limits after years of neglect by the last Conservative government.

The Liberal Democrats are also demanding urgent action to expand state-funded special needs schools to tackle the chronic lack of places. Right now, 67 specialist schools are stuck in planning delays preventing councils from increasing capacity in state schools for children with SEND. In the Cambridgeshire area, Lime Academy in Fenland is waiting for 210 places to open and Greensands Academy, Gamlingay is waiting for 60 places. 

Many children are currently unable to access the right education close to home, often forced to travel long distances or placed in costly private settings—putting even more pressure on overstretched council budgets. Parents of SEND children also face financial pressures as they are often unable to work while they look after their children at home.

The Liberal Democrats are pushing for ‘drastic’ reform of the special educational needs system and are calling for decisive action to end the SEND crisis for good.

In a joint statement, Charlotte Cane (MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire), Pippa Heylings (MP for South Cambridgeshire), and Ian Sollom (MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) said:

"Every week we hear from more and more parents at their wits’ end, trying to secure the right support for their children. Parents who are suffering months-long delays while their children wait to be seen by an educational psychologist, and then, even if they are, they are unable to access appropriate education. Some parents are turning to home education as an alternative because they have tried to grapple with the system and failed. Too many families are being forced to fight tooth and nail for the education their child should be getting as a matter of course. 

"Years of Conservative neglect have left special educational needs services in crisis—failing children, exhausting parents, and leaving teachers and councils to pick up the pieces with inadequate resources. Labour must now act swiftly to repair the damage.

"Families across Cambridgeshire and nationwide deserve so much better. That’s why the Liberal Democrats have put forward bold, practical plans to fix the SEND system, and are calling for urgent change. We are determined to stand up for every child who has been failed for far too long."