Sidmouth councillor Denise Bickley said she is disappointed but not surprised by a further delay to the planned governmental white paper on schools.
The white paper, which was originally planned for earlier this year and then delayed until the autumn, is now due early next year, said Bridget Phillipson, education secretary.
Councillor Bickley, who is the cabinet member with responsibility for services that support children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) on Devon County Council, said the government needs to "get its act together."
"The national education system supporting children and young people is fundamentally broken," Cllr Bickley said. “Parents are saying it, councils are saying it, experts are all saying that the entire education system needs a review and that it needs re-setting."
“The current system is not fit for purpose, and it’s failing children and young people and their families.
In a letter to the chair of the education select sub-committee, the education secretary describes five principles that will underpin the government’s SEND reforms, including that children should receive the support they need as soon as possible; that children and young people with SEND should be able to learn at a school close to home alongside their peers rather than travelling long distances from their family and community; and that every school should be resourced and able to meet common predictable needs.
Cllr Bickley said the government needs to be much bolder in their reforms and that they could take a leaf out of Devon's books.
“It is gratifying to see that the plans we are making align directly with the points that the education secretary herself describes as the underpinning principles in her letter," she said. "We need to be really brave, and in Devon, I believe that we are leading that."
“I just hope that the government is listening to what experts are saying. I hope that this pause is to ensure that change is meaningful and far-reaching.
“We need this government to be brave with reform and I truly hope that they are not watering down the complete re-set that needs to happen, and that children, young people and their families need to start benefiting from urgently."
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