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<\/p>\nBBC viewers have absolutely slammed last night\u2019s episode of Countryfile for its special educational needs (SEN) report claiming it had \u201cnothing\u201d to do with the countryside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom Heap presented the report which viewers dubbed as \u201ctoo political\u201d for the agriculture programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Margherita Taylor and Joe Crowley kicked off last night\u2019s episode of Countryfile at Dumfries House as they took a closer look at the estate\u2019s beautiful gardens and the rural skills centre there which has recently been opened by King Charles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much further south, Tom, 57, investigated how families are struggling to get the support they need for their children from rural schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starting his investigation in Devon, he explained: \u201cA lot of councils report issues with funding, especially in rural areas,\u201d before meeting with Scott and Emily, the parents of ten-year-old Rupert who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The couple has been struggling with his education because his school doesn\u2019t have enough resources to meet his needs or give him a quieter space to learn it when the classroom setting becomes overwhelming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Explaining the situation to Tom, Emily said: \u201cI think a lot of people, were they not in a rural area, would perhaps move their child to a bigger school that has those provisions in place.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, because of where we live, we are stuck where we are with this school.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a family, it feels like our entire life has stopped. We have to put our needs on hold to fill in the gaps where the service isn\u2019t meeting his needs.\u201d<\/p>\n During the report, Tom spoke to the parent of another child, the head teacher of a local primary school and local Liberal Democrats MP Richard Ford, who took this issue to Parliament.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The report featured a clip of Richard speaking about SEN issues in the House of Commons.\u00a0<\/p>\n Afterward, he told Tom the main issue affecting local schools is money.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHere in rural areas, the money just simply doesn\u2019t go as far,\u201d the MP said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tom also took the time to explore the disparity of SEN funding between rural and urban schools, and the report included footage of urban protests on the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although less money is making it to rural schools, the lack of funding and resources is a problem affecting the whole of the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because of this, many Countryfile viewers felt the report was out of place on the farming and agriculture show.\u00a0<\/p>\n Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one viewer asked: \u201cCan we have something about the countryside, please?\u201d <\/p>\n Another commented: \u201cIn my opinion, this has nothing to do with the countryside. Rather, it is giving a platform for privileged parents to make a political statement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t just a problem in rural schools, but is a real concern in the majority of schools nationwide,\u201d added a third.<\/p>\n \u201cCountryfile should be called Politicalfile. Loads of BBC News c**p,\u201d a fourth viewer criticised.<\/p>\n Slamming the show, a fifth viewer said: \u201cI thought this was Countryfile? Seems to be another political programme.\u201d<\/p>\n However, some viewers were happy to see the issue discussed in Countryfile. The report aimed to shed light on an important topic in the U.K. and tackled it from a countryside angle.<\/p>\n One praised: \u201cThank you BBC One for showing the national SEND crisis on Countryfile. Access to education, social & health care must stop being a postcode lottery.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/jeremy-clarkson-cotswold-farm-picture-679599405.jpg\")
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