A ROW has broken out between former county councillor Emma Marshall and sitting councillor Steven Foster regarding the SEND provision in Worcestershire.
Mrs Marshall, who was Children’s Overview and Scrutiny chair, has strongly criticised the new Reform-led administration.
She claimed during a meeting of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel on July 3, comments made by Coun Steven Foster, cabinet member with responsibility for Education and SEND, made inference to scrapping the SEND Invest to Save programme.
He said: “We are not in any position to build any provision.”
During a meeting in February, Worcestershire County Council announced an investment of £30.1million into SEND services.
The council said the funding would enable additional specialist and enhanced education provision for children and young people with SEND.
It will also create additional education provision in Worcestershire, improve local access to support and help reduce the strain on the council’s already stretched budget.
Mrs Marshall said the programme was developed in direct response to the escalating home-to-school transport bill, which had been driven up by the increasing need to send children miles away to access suitable placements.
Mrs Marshall said: “My son had a statement of education, and I ended up homeschooling him for a year when we couldn’t find a placement that could meet his needs.
“Thankfully, we eventually found the right provision and he went on to pass his GCSEs and is now in college. That’s the difference the right placement can make. Every family deserves that.”
In Redditch, where she served as a councillor, she said she also worked with several families facing the same reality.
“I supported residents who couldn’t find appropriate provision for their children.
“These children weren’t attending school because they simply couldn’t cope.
“One parent even had to leave their job to care for their child, putting the whole family under financial pressure.
“This isn’t just a policy issue – it’s a crisis affecting real people.”
However, Coun Foster has refuted Mrs Marshall’s claims, saying he was referring to comments made in a public address at a council meeting on February 13 by Jade Bleese – from disability charity Onside Advocacy.
Those at the meeting were discussing the capacity to bring the children with education and health care plans (EHCP) travelling to the three independent schools back into a new local specialist capacity, which he said was not voted on or actioned.
Coun Foster said: “There is no new SEND school build provision in that investment to meet the above ‘spend to save’ case referred to.
“The £30.1million investment is to meet the increasing demand of SEND in both mainstream and specialist schools and certainly has not been scrapped.”
A council spokesperson added: “The £30.1million investment approved at the February 2025 council meeting is to meet the increasing demand of SEND in both mainstream and specialist schools and is largely funded by the Department of Education.”
