In the third podcast in our series on a decade of the Children and Families Act 2014, SNJ ’s Tania and Renata talks to former SEND Minister, Edward Timpson, who steered the legislation through parliament. We discuss the battles he had to fight to create a legal duty on health in the Act, and to bring in Ofsted /CQC SEND inspections. What does he wish he’d been able to push further? And what else might be different if he hadn’t lost his seat—and ministerial role— in the 2017 election.

Edward Timpson grew up surrounded by children his parents fostered—more than 80 of them. It endowed him with a deep sense of empathy of the problems children face when their needs have not been met. As an MP and Children and Families Minister, he used that knowledge to push for legislative change for disabled children.

As he takes his leave of parliament, he discusses how he plans to work again as a family law barrister with the aim of becoming a judge so he can take decisions that positively affect children’s lives in a direct way.

Find the webpage for this episode here https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/snjic-edward-timpson-care-families-lives/

Philippa Stobbs OBE worked for 30 years at the centre of developing national SEND policy with the Council for Disabled Children—she's the highly-respected doyenne of SEN. Few people have as encyclopaedic knowledge of special educational needs as she does. She spent decades negotiating with the government of the day to ensure legislation and new policy supported children with disabilities, pushing back against government plans that would do the opposite. In a fascinating and educational conversation, Philippa talks to SNJ's Tania Tirraoro and Sharon Smith about a decade of the Children and Families Act 2014 that she was instrumental in influencing, what came before, and what she thinks the future holds. Find the webpage for this episode here

This is Part 1 of a series on a decade of The Children and Families Act that was passed in 2014. What went wrong and what went right?

First up is Stephen Kingdom, now of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, but in 2012, he was the SEND man at the DfE. Stephen looks back at the creating and implementation of the CFA and discusses with Tania Tirraoro and Sharon Smith what he'd do differently now he's been on "the other side".

The webpage for this episode is: https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/children-and-families-act-10-years-stephen-kingdom-dfe-implementation/

SNJ's Tania and Renata chat to newly-retired Director of the Council for Disabled Children about her career, her biggest achievements and who her favourite SEND minister has been...

Find the webpage for the episode, including pictures from Dame Christine's Valedictory address to the SEND sector, here

While few except the DfE think the Government's SEND Improvement Plan is going to fix special educational needs provision in England, Tania & Renata ask Labour's spokesperson on SEND, Helen Hayes MP, for her views on the issue. Find the podcast webpage here: https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/snj-in-conversation-labour-send-spokesperson-helen-hayes-mp-fixing-send/

Vocal coach and celebrity, Carrie Grant MBE is well known for having a diverse family. Along with her husband, singer, David Grant, she has four neurodivergent, mixed race children, several of whom also identify as transgender. Two are also up and coming actors, including in the series, Hollyoaks. In an interesting and entertaining episode of SNJ in Conversation, Carrie discusses these intersections with Tania Tirraoro and Renata Blower, and the difficulties they have encountered along the way.

Find the post that accompanies https://wp.me/p3S8eh-8gf

If this subject is one you want to comment on, remember these are real young people with real feelings so please be respectful.

In the first SNJ in Conversation podcast of the year, Renata and Tania put your questions to public lawyer Steve Broach about SEND law in 2023. Your questions answered about EHCPs, Annual Reviews, what, if anything, has changed, group challenges via Judicial Review and much more! Listen to the show and find the show webpage here: https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/snj-in-conversation-send-law-in-2023-public-law-barrister-steve-broach-answers-your-questions/

SNJ's Renata Blower and Tania Tirraoro discuss aspects of the SEND Review Green Paper with Minister for Children & Families, Will Quince MP. 

We covered a range of issues, including plans for mandatory mediation, ringfencing schools' SEND budgets, teacher training for SEND and much more over 45 minutes of in-depth conversation. 

If you want to know more about the Green Paper, check out our dedicated page here