A CAFE in Ilminster is "struggling" and having to “pull back” its educational services due to a Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Funding dispute with the Somerset Council.
Gamesmaster café and Punky Dory, at 39 Silver Street, Ilminster, is part of Silver Lining Internships, which specialises in providing supported work experience for young adults with disabilities who need help to achieve independence.
The idea is that the café offers its interns fully paid employment and SEND support through work experience and personalised teaching.
When asked to explain her approach, owner Evelyn Ashford said: “The main thing about neurodivergent people is they are all different.
“I wanted to find a model that would work better.”
She also added: “Young people with special needs, I think its abusive if they are doing work and not being paid.”
READ MORE: Review of Gamesmaster café: Ilminster’s only boardgame café
Up until now, the café has run with support from Access to Work funding for employment support and private funding from its owner for the educational input – this was to show that the model would work, and it has been a great success for the young people involved.
However, recently the government has “significantly reduced” all Access To Work funding, and the owner can no longer afford to fund the additional educational support required.
Parents have asked the council to continue to provide educational funding for their young adult children with SEN, but Somerset Council ceased EHCP funding for one intern and is also delaying finalising EHCP funding for another, after sending the initial draft.
According to Evelyn, there has also been concern regarding a pattern of non-engagement and delayed responses from the Somerset Council SEN department regarding the Special Educational Needs Funding.
In an interview with the Chard and Ilminster News, Evelyn said: “We just can’t do what we used to.
“I have had to pull back, not only because access to work have cut their funding but also because I can’t afford to keep funding the education side of things alone.
“If we had the EHCPs funding we would be able to provide the educational support including life-skills ‘Preparation for Adulthood’ that is need to give these young people a real opportunity to reach independence.”
The mother of one of the interns added: “It’s so disgusting. These young people have been left to rot.”
The services the interns are requesting include a comprehensive programme entailing 15 hours of education (via EHCP’s) in addition to the 15 hours of employed support funded by ‘Access to Work’, however, due to the lack of funding Evelyn has been restricted in what she can offer her current interns and has even had to turn away others.
She said: “I narrowly avoided selling property myself just to fund it and get out of debt.
“We are giving these kids as much support as we can but the local authority is turning their backs on them.”
The mother of the interns added: “It’s abusive. It’s like some sort of conspiracy.”
Despite this, the Somerset Council have asserted that Silver Linings are not registered for internships, as the young people are paid in employment, which is different from an internship.
They added: "The organisation is not an approved provider with Somerset Council. Therefore, the Council has no duty, or mechanism, to fund the organisation to do the work they want to do.
"We have communicated this situation clearly and repeatedly to Silver Linings.
"We are always open to new providers working with us to meet the necessary requirements and standards to be funded."
Despite this, Evelyn insists that Somerset Local Authority has several options that would enable them to fund the educational support for this group of excluded young people, using their EHCP's; including 'direct payments' and 'personal budgets' which allow for any type of support.
She also says that Silver Lining meets all of the criteria to become a registered 'alternative provider'. Hopefully the involvement of Adam Dance will encourage the parties to meet and come to an agreement.
The Somerset Council have since responded to Evelyn saying they will uphold the complaint about the delays but have still not sent the final EHCP or the right to appeal.
MP For South Somerset and Yeovil, Adam Dance has also commented on this situation, saying as both an MP and Somerset Councillor who has lived experience with ADHD and dyslexia, he knows how vital it is for young people with additional needs to receive the right support to thrive.
He said: “I would encourage the parents to reach out to me, so I can follow this issue up carefully, visit their organisation to learn more and work constructively with Somerset Council and all involved to ensure the needs of these young people are properly met.
“I am proud to be championing better SEND provision in Parliament, and I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure that no young person is left behind."
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