18/04/2026
Powerful and deeply personal words here from Cllr Shaun Garrett
As we approach the upcoming unitary elections, we want to address an issue that is deeply important to both of us and to so many families in our area: the reality of navigating the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system.
For me, this is deeply personal. Raising two wonderful neurodiverse children, I have my own personal lived experience navigating this complex system firsthand. While our children bring immense joy, the emotional and exhausting battle to get the right support is a fight families shouldn't have to face. In my role as a governor across four local schools in our ward, and through supporting residents struggling to secure much needed diagnoses and EHCPs, the everyday reality of this tough system is clear. Families need dedicated champions in their corner.
Families need dedicated champions in their corner.
Trefor Hogg has been fighting for systemic change to ensure those champions exist at every level. He advocates for a more inclusive, community-based approach, working tirelessly to improve services like Mindworks and adult SEND through the select committee, the Mental Health Improvement Fund, and APPEER. Trefor firmly believes we need a societal shift towards inclusion. We must recognise that talents come in many shapes and sizes, and we absolutely need everybody to stop regarding differences as automatically meaning disability. Neurodivergent characteristics are much more widespread than has been appreciated, which is exactly why Trefor insisted on the Surrey AHSC getting a public briefing from experts last year.
Between my deeply personal, frontline experience and Trefor’s relentless work on the committee, we know what true advocacy looks like. That is why we are both utterly dismayed by the lack of care and understanding shown by the Reform party. In April 2025, their leader Nigel Farage claimed we are “massively over-diagnosing” those with mental health and behavioural needs, suggesting that supporting these individuals is “creating a class of victims.”
This brings us to those standing for the Reform party locally. When we see candidates who actually work in our local schools, places that do such vital work supporting SEN and EHCP students, we have to ask a serious question. How can anyone work every day with these brilliant young people, seeing their daily challenges and incredible potential, yet represent a party whose leader dismisses their needs as mere 'victimhood'?
Our children and adults with hidden disabilities are not victims, and they are not over-diagnosed. They just need the right support to thrive.
I completely appreciate that there are still significant issues with SEND provision locally, as I have experienced them personally. I have always been here to support residents navigating this system, and I even help friends living outside of Surrey by pointing them in the right direction for help and support.
If I am lucky enough to be elected, I will use my position as a unitary councillor to make sure the service we supply locally is the absolute best it can be. I will be a fierce advocate, calling out poor services when they are unacceptable, and I will continue to challenge officers at ALL levels on behalf of my residents.
Alongside Trefor, our joint commitment to you is that we will continue this vital work together. We will keep fighting for a system that actually cares, and we will ensure families are supported and clearly signposted to all the services available to them.
When you cast your vote, please consider who will genuinely stand up for our families and who truly understands the realities of SEND in our community.
As always if you have any issues or concerns please don't hesitate to email me [email protected]
For full context on Nigel Farage's comments, and to read why the National Autistic Society called his claims "wildly inaccurate," you can read more here: https://www.learningdisabilitytoday.co.uk/news/comments-by-nigel-farage-on-send-are-fake-news-says-national-autistic-society/
