SEND Meeting: Minister of State for School standards, Catherine Mckinnell

Today I met with the Minister of State for School Standards, Catherine McKinnell, alongside a group of MPs, to discuss SEND and the changes needed in the Forest of Dean ahead of forthcoming reforms.

I promised parents this would be a priority for me — and in the first week back from recess, it is.

I shared feedback from my recent SEND events with schools, parents and carers, and pressed for:

- Faster assessments

- More specialist and resourced places close to home

- Stronger early intervention

- Better joined-up support between schools, the NHS and local authorities.

I’ll keep pushing for improvements and will continue to update you on the next steps.