Factfinding mission sees MP go back to school

The MP, who is Shadow Minister for Education, met headteacher Zoe Free, who gave him a tour of the school. She said: “Mr Bhatti was really engaged and interested in what we do at Cedars. We took him into classrooms and showed him some of the work being done by the students.

“We talked about the Thrive approach, which we use to support inclusion, SEMH and behaviour in our school and we also explained the important contribution our clinical team make. Overall, I think he recognised the valuable contribution a specialist school such as ours makes to delivering positive outcomes for our young learners.”

Mr Bhatti said: “It was a pleasure to visit Cedars, and I am grateful to Zoe and all the staff at Aurora for taking the time to welcome me.

“I was hugely impressed by the dedication of the staff and the support provided to pupils. I recognise the important role that special schools like Cedars play in delivering SEND services. I look forward to continuing to work with The Aurora Group to support this vital work.”

During his visit, Mr Bhatti met with Aurora CEO Kelvin Donald. Kelvin said: “Since Aurora was established 11 years ago, we’ve been on a mission to provide high-quality, person-centred, education and care to enable all those we support to thrive and fulfil their potential. Cedars is a great example of how we deliver this.

“We were able to demonstrate to Mr Bhatti the value of what we do and underlined the importance that any Government reform of SEND education must ensure a sufficient supply and range of specialist services, and that there should be no delay in the ability of children and young people to access them.”