We have written to the John Roan School and the United Learning Trust, to challenge the school’s proposal to significantly cut Special Educational Needs and Disability support without first consulting with the families of children at the school.  

The proposal includes the removal of all Teaching Assistant positions, the Counsellor, the Director of Inclusion and the Special Educational Needs Coordinator. It would also involve the loss of the 'Pride Room' and its coordinator, which supports young people with autism and other complex needs who may otherwise struggle to engage in a mainstream school. Whilst some posts would be replaced with new ones, the proposal would result in the net loss of 20 staff providing Special Educational Needs and Disability support, reducing the total from 32 to 12. The school aims to implement these changes from September 2021.

The school has not consulted parents at any stage on these proposals. This includes parents of children who currently receive the specialist support needed to meet their special educational needs. In our pre-action letter, we argue that the school must undertake a proper and lawful consultation with families before implementing these sweeping changes.

Parents at John Roan are now fundraising to towards the costs of the legal challenge. Find out more about the case here.

Please find our pre-action letter in the Supporting Documents tab on this page.