Hitchin MP calls on Education Secretary to step up and deliver for local children failed by 'broken' SEND system

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP

WEDNESDAY 14^th JANUARY 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ahead of the Government's forthcoming proposed reforms to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in schools, Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has written to the Education Secretary to demand local families’ experiences are at their heart. 

This follows the most recent round of SEND workshops ran by the MP, to allow local parents and educators to share their perspectives on the current system and changes they'd like to see.

In his letter, Strathern called for systemic changes to ensure greater support is available for young people who need it far earlier in their lives, with more training and investment needed to enable early years settings to identify and help children with additional needs at the earliest possible stage. 

He also called for greater support for mainstream schools to enable them to fully meet the needs of all pupils for whom mainstream provision is appropriate.  Strathern highlighted the need for greater investment in accessible places and specialist teacher training and support to ensure they could do right by all pupils. 

Since being elected as an MP, with SEND provision especially weak in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Strathern has campaigned on the need for improvements in SEND provision. He welcomed significant extra funding from the government for SEND education, and before Christmas welcomed investment to deliver over 100 additional SEND prison places in Central Bedfordshire thanks to a Government funding boost.

Around 40 parents attended the event at Hitchin Town Hall on Thursday 7^th January.

Alistair Strathern said:

“It is utterly heartbreaking speaking to young people and their families who've been failed by the deeply broken state of SEND provision.

"While it's clear our councils could do far better in many cases to support local families, it's clear the national system simply isn't working.

"We have a moral obligation to make sure we step up and deliver a system that's focused first and foremost on the thing that matters most, ensuring every child has the support they need to thrive. 

"Local families have rightly highlighted the need to do far more to ensure support is available far earlier for young people who need it, to hold schools and councils accountable for their failings on inclusion, and to provide teachers with the specialist training and support's they need to best support every young person in their school. 

"I'm determined to ensure these heartbreaking stories are at the heart of the Education Department's urgently needed reform proposals. 

"That's why I will be continuing to take their testimony to Westminster to hold the Government to account on these urgently needed reforms." 

Notes for Editors

You can see an image from the event attached.