Here are the results of our spring term 2023 temperature check poll:
It is really sad and troubling to see the same or similar words coming up in the word clouds (the second graphic above) since we started doing these polls: frustrated, exhausting, appalling, non-existent, inadequate. The satisfaction poll results also paint a worrying picture.
We know that there are examples of good practice, support and help out there, and that there are some dedicated, hard-working people providing invaluable services, but we are continuing to hear a stark message from parent carers about their experiences and this cannot be ignored.
We started these polls to try and get an idea of the general feeling from parent carers in East Sussex about education, health, and social care services for SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) families, and to track any changes over time. While the polls aren’t intended to be deep analysis, the results do give us an important sense of how lots of families are feeling and allow us to demonstrate to the local authority, health, and other services whether the overall feeling is that things are getting better, worse, or staying the same for families in East Sussex.
The poll results will be shared with senior leads at the local authority, including the Director of Children’s Services, and we’ll do another temperature check towards the end of the summer term where we’ll look at results from across the year.