​Every child deserves timely support that actually works.​​

As someone with over 22 years of experience in SEN, I’ve seen the gaps, the heartbreak, and the wasted potential. But I’ve also seen what works. Through Synolos, the organisation I founded, we’ve supported over 600 young people—offering education, work skills, and mental health support to those too often pushed out of the mainstream.

I don’t just talk about reform—I’ve lived it, delivered it, and defended it. But across Oxfordshire today, families are still being let down by a system that feels slow, confusing, and out of touch.

Delays in assessment, lack of provision, and inconsistent support have become the norm. Parents are exhausted. Schools are overwhelmed. Children are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or simply ignored. This isn’t just overstretch—it’s structural failure.

At the same time, we’re seeing a rapid increase in SEND diagnoses and EHCP requests—without enough local investigation into what’s driving that demand. Many fear that SEND funding is being stretched beyond its remit, often used to fill gaps left by under-resourced NHS mental health services. When proper mental health support isn’t available, schools and local authorities are sometimes forced to route children through SEND frameworks just to access help. That’s not fair on families—or the children caught in the middle.

We need a full, local investigation into how SEND and NHS mental health support are functioning together—and whether the system is unintentionally failing those it’s meant to help.

We cannot build a better system without understanding the pressures it faces. And we cannot meet children's needs with bureaucracy, misused funding, or one-size-fits-all approaches.

SEND provision must be built on trust, transparency, and a long-term commitment to understanding every child as an individual.

A SEND System Built on Trust, Urgency, and Long-Term Vision

We can’t fix lives with policies built for spreadsheets.

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What I Stand For:

Oxfordshire County Council plays a key role in commissioning, providing, and overseeing SEND support. I will use my direct, frontline experience to push for reform that puts children, families, and schools at the centre—reform that’s based on people, not paperwork.

I will work relentlessly for change across Oxfordshire, with a personal focus on Brize Norton and Carterton East, where too many families are still battling to be heard.

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My Pledges:

• I will push for faster assessments, so children don’t wait years for diagnoses or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

• I will fight for proper, long-term SEND funding, so providers can plan ahead and meet need with confidence.

• I will support a broader, fairer alternative curriculum offer, so children who don’t fit the mainstream are not left behind.

• I will demand a full review of local SEND policy and delivery, including staffing, procedures, and resourcing.

• I will challenge one-size-fits-all thinking, pushing for education and support that adapts to each child.

• I will investigate the rise in EHCP applications and SEND diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, speech and language needs, and mental health conditions—so support is driven by need, not assumptions.

• I will push for answers on whether SEND budgets are being used to compensate for gaps in NHS mental health provision, and fight for fully funded, standalone mental health support.

• I will call for the County Council to act as both commissioner and provider of alternative provision, ensuring quality and accountability go hand in hand.

• I will advocate for joined-up services across education, health, justice, and family support—so no one falls through the cracks.

• I will use my direct experience from Synolos to shape policy through real-world understanding, not distant theory.

• I will fight for better-funded, more responsive SEND services in Brize Norton and Carterton East—fully integrated with the wider county offer.

• I will call for an independent investigation into how SEND and NHS services interact in Oxfordshire, ensuring that no child is left unsupported due to system failure.

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