Phillipson accuses lawyers of exploiting parents of children with special needs
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<p>Education secretary has claimed lawyers’ criticisms of her department’s policy changes are motivated by profit</p><p>Lawyers have been accused of exploiting parents of children with special needs by the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, who claimed their criticisms of the government’s policy changes were motivated by profit.</p><p>Speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference, Phillipson said the <a href="https://www
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Phillipson accuses lawyers of exploiting parents of children with special needs Education secretary has claimed lawyers’ criticisms of her department’s policy changes are motivated by profit Lawyers have been accused of exploiting parents of children with special needs by the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson , who claimed their criticisms of the government’s policy changes were motivated by profit. Speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference, Phillipson said the special educational needs overhaul outlined last month would “move the system away from the very adversarial system that we have, where parents have had to fight so hard for support”. Lawyers who offer services for families have criticised elements of Phillipson’s package, which aims for more children with special needs such as autism or ADHD to be educated in mainstream schools rather than special schools. Phillipson said: “It’s been little surprise to me that there’s been such vociferous criticism from lawyers about the changes that we’re bringing. You know, they’ve got a vested interest in maintaining the failed status quo. There’s profit to be made. “They want the system to remain as it is, because they make a profit often out of exploiting parents. And I don’t, for one second, blame parents are pushing really hard for what their children need. Who wouldn’t? But it’s a fundamentally unfair system if parents who’ve got the money to hire lawyers end up getting a better deal than those who don’t. “Our support to tilt the system towards much earlier support, a fairer system of support for all children, is absolutely the right approach, backed up by the evidence supported by the profession.” The changes outlined in last month’s schools white paper will also limit council spending on private special school fees, leading to claims that some will be forced to close and increase shortages of places elsewhere. But Phillipson rejected this, saying: “We do have to clamp down on...
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