Open Letter

Dear Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP and Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP 

We welcome the government’s joined up approach in the form of the Get Britain Working package and your commitment to invest £240m that will include skills support for disabled people. In particular we note that the government is interested in ‘testing new early interventions targeted at the specific barriers they are facing to work.’

We believe that the return on investment can be multiplied if this funding is targeted at providers with experience of making a lifetime difference to people who are most at risk of becoming economically inactive through disability. 

Our students and young people are at the heart of everything we do in special schools. We are committed to ensuring they receive the excellent education and independent living skills they need to secure long-term work and contribute to the economy.

We power students through their education and right into the workplace. We provide bona fide work experience by working with employers such as Waitrose to secure apprenticeships for them.

Concerningly, the employment rate of people with difficulty seeing appears to be continuing on an overall downward trend (RNIB). Only one in four blind and partially sighted people of working age are in employment whereas the overall UK employment rate is 75% (ONS). Greater specialist support from age 2 to 25 is needed.

Unfortunately the future of special schools is at risk because the government funding and commissioning service in recent years has not been fit for purpose. This situation has been exacerbated by enormous cuts in council funding. The impact of this is that local authorities have no choice than to use cheaper local alternatives which only tick a box of meeting educational needs without actually delivering the lifetime benefit that special schools can provide.

If mainstream schools are to play a role in the future, then it will be essential to preserve the expert outreach training programmes provided by special schools.

This letter is sent on behalf of everyone who believes in the contribution that special schools make to society. For us true equality lies in empowering VI people to lead a life with the same opportunities that a sighted person can enjoy.

All the time we see examples of VI people breaking down barriers and proving that they can achieve the same as any sighted person.  Most recently Chris McCausland on Strictly Come Dancing has captured the nation’s hearts, but too often VI people achieve against the odds, rather than being given the chance early in life to learn the skills that will enable them to fulfill their potential.

We are urging the government to commit to working with us to secure a sustainable future for all special schools and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the dignity of work and financial independence. 

Yours sincerely

Rachel Perks, Principal, New College Worcester

Jane Doe, CEO, Doeworks

John Doe, Headteacher, Doe School