News

The head of Stockport’s Seashell Trust is to lead a Department of Education review into England’s residential special schools.

Mark Geraghty, Chief Executive of the Seashell Trust in Cheadle Hulme, has been asked to co-chair the high-level review alongside the Director of the Council for Disabled Children, Dame Christine Lenehan.

The review will probe England’s current residential special schools provision and is expected to define practical steps for the Government and other agencies to help support the charities providing care for young people with complex needs.

Mark Geraghty said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been given this significant role to help to review the residential services across England and to shape Government policy to best give vulnerable young people the support they need.

“It is a great honour and also a huge responsibility and I am committed to working closely with all the stakeholders to review England’s residential special schools and make the kind of recommendations that will help us to drive continuous improvement into the future.”

Mark, has led the Seashell Trust in Cheadle Hulme since September 2009 and has an established and prestigious track record working in education for children with profound special needs.

The Lenehan-Geraghty report is likely to be published in March 2017 and the Department of Education will then decide whether to accept the recommendations put forward.

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

 “Every child, no matter the obstacles they face, should have the same opportunities for success as any other. This independent review will look at how the experiences of children and young people attending residential special schools and college can be improved, to ensure the right support is in place.

We are grateful to Dame Christine Lenehan and to Mark Geraghty for conducting this review. Together they bring a wealth of experience from across the education and social care spectrum.”