We are delighted that our own Councillor Jonathan Hulley has been appointed as the Surrey Cabinet Member for Children and Lifelong Learning.
Jonathan is the Conservative Surrey County Councillor for Foxhills, Thorpe & Virginia Water and previously been taking steps to reduce the impact of utility company roadworks as Deputy Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways.
Speaking about his new role in charge of social services and schools, he said: "I am determined to hit the ground running and make a positive difference in this new role. I am a lawyer by profession and take pride in problem solving, and I am hopeful that these professional skills will be of some use in the weeks and months ahead.
"My first task was to consider a recommendation to approve the creation of an additional 152 specialist school places at three different school locations in Surrey.
"Working closely with cabinet colleagues, I want to prioritise improvements in our SEND service, including recruiting additional case workers, improved complaints handling and quality assurance, supporting closer working with schools and families, and the timely completion of the annual review and key stage transfer statutory activity."
Jonathan will strengthen the mediation and dispute resolution service and work alongside our MPs to lobby government for much needed Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) reform.
A recent inspection of Surrey social services by Ofsted judged SCC to be ‘good’. Not only that - our services were judged to be ‘good’ in each of the four individual inspection areas, as well as for overall effectiveness. The inspection found that services have significantly improved since the council’s last inspection in 2022, commenting that ‘Leaders’ vision to ensure that children have a sense of belonging and positive experiences has been embraced across the workforce at every level’.