Failing our Special Educational Needs Children is Shameful and Must Stop, say Oldham Liberal Democrats

A report released this month from Ofsted and the Quality Care Commission has condemned Oldham Council for its provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The Oldham Liberal Democrat Group is calling on the Labour Administration to take urgent action to meet the recommendations outlined in the report.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness, Shadow Cabinet Member for Employment and Skills and an Autism Spectrum Disorder lead teacher at a Manchester school, said:

“Although the inspectors found some good practice and some motivated staff, it is clear from this report that there is a serious disconnect between what should be happening to meet the accepted standards of good practice and what is all-too-often happening on the ground and in our classrooms in Oldham.

“A child or young person with SEN, such as autism, and/or disabilities has just as much right to expect an excellent education as any other pupil. The inspectors refer to the many children and young people with these conditions who possess a ‘stunning conviction and a humbling humility about the work they do to improve the lives of their peers’. It is unforgiveable and it is shameful if we as a Council and as an education authority continue to fail them in this way, and this failure must stop.”

The condemnatory report called for a Written Statement of Action to be produced because of ‘significant areas of weakness in the local area’s practice’.

Councillor Harkness added: “We have had a long standing problem in Oldham in providing the best start for our children and young people with additional needs. As someone who works in specialist Autism Spectrum Disorder provision myself and who works closely with the Local Authority in Manchester on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities I know how important it is to provide the right support to these youngsters.”

Yet the report says that: ‘Oldham is one of the worst-achieving areas nationally for educational achievement for this group of children. This prevalent poor achievement is exacerbated by high levels of fixed-term exclusions and persistent absences from school for children and young people who have SEN and/or disabilities.’

The report also highlights that school transport is flawed and that ‘children and young people wait too long for the needs to be identified.’

Councillor Harkness said: “This is simply unacceptable. We are leaving these children behind, abandoning them educationally. By not properly accessing the needs of these children, and the support that they need, at an early enough stage – sometimes not until they move from primary to secondary school – we are making it more likely that they will underperform at school. By excluding them and tolerating poor attendance, we are exacerbating this problem, and by having a school transport system that is not up to the challenge we make it harder to encourage parents to send their children to school in the first place.

“The Oldham Liberal Democrat Group’s score on the performance of the Labour Administration based on the findings of this report is an F – for Failure. This is not just about ‘could do better’, this is about ‘must do better’ and now, because this Council has spent a fortune on the Oldham Education Commission but it continues to let our most vulnerable young people down.

“The Oldham Liberal Democrats want to see every child and young person in our Borough achieve as much as they possibly can in education and in life so that they can fulfill their true potential. As always we are willing to work with the Labour Administration if they genuinely want to work with us in achieving this laudable objective.”

Update from Councillor Chris Gloster regarding traffic chaos in Shaw Town Centre

Update from Councillor Chris Gloster regarding traffic chaos in Shaw Town Centre

Shaw and Crompton Borough Councillors, Oldham Council Highways Officers, Greater Manchester Police Traffic Management and representatives from local businesses in Shaw have met with senior national, regional and local managers at Yodel to express their concerns over Tuesday night’s events which saw complete gridlock for seven hours on Tuesday night (21.11.17) due to volume of HGVs entering Shaw.

This was put down to wider road network issues caused by closure of M56, restrictions on M6, the Manchester United International game, LittleMix Concert and poor weather, as well as Tuesday being a busy day after weekend online shopping.

Yodel have agreed to and already put in place exceptional traffic management measures, including diverting trailers to other sites and ensuring empty trailers are moved off site to maximise space.

They have come up with a short term plan and will work with the Council Highways and GMP to look at longer term measures to prevent any recurrence that they described as a ‘perfect storm’ due to a simultaneous  combination of factors that all occurred at once.

Hopefully these actions will prevent a recurrence but needless to say Shaw and Crompton Councillors will work hard with Yodel to ensure there is no repeat.

Bus Shelters on Eastway, Shaw

A number of you have contacted me about the provision of a bus shelter on Eastway since the Thursday closure of Market Street is now permanent.  Below is the current situation.

Dear Councillor Sykes,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) regarding the provision of passenger shelters on Eastway, Shaw.

I have contacted our Route Equipment team regarding this matter and have been advised that before we install a shelter, we consult the Local Authority Highways Department who are responsible for providing and maintaining roads and footpaths throughout the borough and Greater Manchester Police, who are primarily concerned with traffic safety.

We also talk to local residents and local councillors before we make our final decision whether to install a shelter at a bus stop.

Our final decision is based on a number of things including:

  • Whether the pavement is wide enough
  • The number of passengers using the stop within a 12 hour period
  • What type of shelter is best for the location
  • Whether the shelter would obscure sightlines for other road users
  • And whether the shelter would provide a safe and secure waiting location for bus passengers

As you can appreciate, this is a lengthy process; however, I will ensure that you are kept fully informed of the progress of your request for passenger shelters along Eastway. If there is anything at all I can help you with in the interim then please do not hesitate to contact me at customer.relations@tfgm.com.

Yours sincerely

Andy Heggie, Customer Engagement Officer, Transport for Greater Manchester

Discredited Shaw and Crompton parish councillors expelled by Liberal Democrats

I reproduce in full a recent statement issued by Lynne Thompson, Chair of Oldham Liberal Democrats.

Discredited parish councillors expelled by Liberal Democrats

Oldham Liberal Democrats have revoked the membership of two Shaw and Crompton parish councillors, Shaun Duffy and Denise Tindall.  The pair remain members of the parish council as independents, but have been disowned by their former party.

“As councillors and as people, they fell far short of the standards of behaviour the Liberal Democrats expect from their elected representatives”, said Local Party Chair, Lynne Thompson.

Shaun Duffy defrauded the Mayor of Oldham’s Charity.  Not only did he fail to pass on sponsorship money he collected, he actually cost local charities money by booking tickets to an outside event and refusing to pay.

He also published on Facebook information provided to him in confidence as a councillor.  He later tried to present himself as a whistleblower, but not before trying to hide what he had done.

Denise Tindall used foul language and threatened members of the public on Facebook and in a public place.

“These are far from all, or even the most serious, of the allegations reported to us by members of the public”, said Chair, Lynne Thompson.  “We thank the people who alerted us but it was not practical to investigate everything and we especially wanted to avoid exposing anyone to any possible backlash.”

The pair were also found guilty of dishonestly manipulating the affairs of their Lib Dem branch.

Duffy and Tindall were suspended as Liberal Democrat councillors and party members on 1st August after initial investigations.

Under the party’s disciplinary process they have had every chance to defend themselves: by responding to the charges and evidence, by presenting their case to a hearing of the Executive Committee, and by submitting an appeal to higher levels in the party.  They presented no evidence, ignored the hearing and have made no appeal.   With the expiry of the appeals time limit, the party’s duty of confidentiality is at an end.

“One thing we wish to make very clear”, says Lynne Thompson.  “They are desperately trying to misrepresent themselves as having left the party voluntarily.  This is the last of many lies; they have been booted out in disgrace.”

Liberal Democrat Leader says Budget is not smoke and mirrors just big gaping holes

“After most Budgets, people warn you to look out for ‘smoke and mirrors’ trickery,” stated Councillor Howard Sykes MBC Liberal Democrat and Opposition Group Leader on Oldham Council.  “But this budget was more about massive gaping holes.”

“Take the high profile issue of housing – with figures showing a massive downturn in affordable rented accommodation being built, this was a golden opportunity to act,” he added.  “There will be some movement on the housing borrowing cap – but only in “high demand” areas.  There is no council in the country that does not have people on housing waiting lists and homelessness.  All areas should be regarded as ‘high demand’!”

“Adult social care faces a deficit of £2.8 billion by the end of the decade, with children’s services facing a £2 billion gap over the next two years.  The Chancellor did not address this at all and has betrayed adults and children who depend on care services,” said Councillor Sykes.  “The Liberal Democrat plan to raise £6bn a year for our health and social care services through a penny on the pound in income tax is an idea whose time has come.”

“The budget had some interesting points such as the charge on single use plastic items, and the ability to increase council tax on empty homes – but it was such a wasted opportunity as key services will continue to be starved of cash and resources and citizens will suffer,” he claimed.

Surface water Buckstones Road

A number of people have been in contact regarding the surface water on Buckstones Road, Shaw (above and below 300 Buckstones Road).

I have pursued the matter with the Highways Department and I have the following to report.

Highways have been on site a few days ago and opened up the channel behind the kerb line and cleared all gullies.

There is an issue lower down with water coming off private land that Main Drainage Department is dealing with but does not appear to be the main reason for the current surface water in this area.

The opened channel is now capturing any water coming from the embankment before it reaches the highway.

The Drainage Section are due to start their investigation on the 16 November.