Renew Education recently welcomed Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox to its King Square centre, where he learned more about the role alternative education providers play in supporting young people who are unable to thrive in mainstream education.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is the second most common issues raised with Ashley Fox's constituency office, with families regularly seeking support to navigate the education system and secure the provision their children need. The visit gave Ashley the opportunity to hear first hand about the challenges facing young people, families and alternative education providers across Somerset.
During the visit to Renew Education's King Square centre, Ashley Fox met with founder Ben Kirk and the team to discuss the organisation's work supporting young people with SEND, poor attendance, social, emotional and mental health needs, and those who have become disengaged from education. He also learned about the personalised mentoring, vocational opportunities and tailored support Renew provides to help young people rebuild confidence and re-engage with learning.
Ashley Fox said:
"SEND is one of the issues my office deals with most frequently, so it was incredibly valuable to visit Renew Education and hear directly from Ben and his team about the work they are doing.
Every young person deserves the opportunity to succeed, and for some, that means accessing a different type of educational environment.
It was encouraging to see the dedication of everyone involved and the positive difference they are making to the lives of young people in our community."
The visit followed Ashley Fox's calls for urgent action to improve Somerset's SEND service. Recent figures show Somerset Council is completing only around 2% of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) within the statutory 20-week timescale, compared with around 88% in neighbouring North Somerset, making it one of the worst-performing councils in the country.
