What Did Warwickshire Council Show Us?

This week the words of the Warwickshire Counsellors, Jeff Morgan, Brian Hammersley and Clare Golby made millions of parents across the country shudder at what they heard. This wouldn’t have been the first time that those parents had faced these challenges in pursuit of finding support for their children. Those parents would have had countless sleepless nights as they watched their children’s futures fade away, as the parents desperately try to help their children exist in a failing education system.

Brian Hammersley jokingly comments:

“Is there something in the water?”

...as it becomes apparent his naivety of the the topic he is discussing. He has the following Committee appointments within the council:

• Children & Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee
• Joint Children & Young People and Adult Social Care & Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Let’s not underestimate the impact of the decisions that are made by these individuals, and the consequences for children. It took one social media post to bring this level of mismanagement to light. The truth is that these archaic views are chronic in society and are a stark reflection of what is amongst leadership in public services.

Apologies were offered in a statement by Warwickshire Council but once again we see an all too common response:

“I accept that the words I used at the meeting were open to interpretation.”

No direct apology was offered and no recognition of the words they used, and this is where lack of change stems from.

There is a belief amongst many leaders that they have it covered, they understand the topics they are discussing and they “know what is best.” In reality, this is what hampers progression within public services and improves the support for children and adults across the country. It begs the question as to how many similar questions are being had across the country. It emphasises how much empathy we should have for parents who are fighting daily battles against mindsets and processes that stem from a lack of understanding. This is a point that I have pressed for many years now, if you do not know about a particular topic, then ask someone who does. Get trained, ask a parent with lived experience, empathise with the experience in the room so you can have positive conversations, understand what is happening.

When you bring these ill-informed opinions and views to a room, without understanding of the damage that they can do, you will continue to perpetuate stigma and bias. More importantly, you will continue to disadvantage the next generation, you will cause unrepairable damage and cause life-long consequences. We are more aware than ever, we are having more conversations than ever about SEND, if we do not we will continue to fuel the school-to-prison pipeline.

If there are leaders reading this, and you are having similar conversations within your management, next time it happens, challenge it. The culture and future prospects of an organisation rely on it. More importantly, a child’s ability to learn and thrive is at stake.

We must do better.