John Milne MP: This may hurt less than you think

Nevertheless that’s exactly what I found myself doing at an event staged by Horsham Matters, along with 10 or so other volunteers in a fundraising event for this wonderful charity. They do such amazing work.

This challenge included a 40-minute safety briefing, which turned out to be a fascinating lesson in psychology. Together we learned that the word ‘fear’ is simply an acronym for ‘false evidence appearing real’. In other words, take it slowly and don’t worry about that alarming sharp sensation in your feet.

At Parliament I attended a packed Westminster Hall debate on the crisis in SEND provision. It was striking to see MPs from across party lines coming together to share their concerns. With costs ballooning 2-3 times in a decade, it’s no wonder local authorities including West Sussex are buckling under the strain.

Many parents resort to legal action to get the support they deserve. This in turn has led to the sad spectacle of local authorities spending a small fortune on barristers and even Kings Counsels to fight them. Local authorities lose 98% of these cases, which only goes to show they shouldn’t have been contested in the first place.

Why are we spending precious money on lawyers that should be going on children?

It’s a classic case of the damage done by cumulative cuts. More than half of SEND pupils have been forced to take time out of school. But that’s often because of the cut in teaching assistants, who are essential for the teacher to keep the whole class progressing.

This just increase the burden on places in special needs schools, so two out of three are operating at or over capacity. Some children will miss years of schooling. We have to change this failing system.

On a more positive note, I also attended the CPRE Countryside Day at Knepp, a nationwide celebration of everything that’s great about the countryside. So many committed volunteers with expertise to share!