Kirsti Hadley, a former workaholic business owner, was forced to give up her job to care for her 13-year-old son with autism, ADHD, and OCD. Despite her years of campaigning, she has been unable to secure an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) for him, which is a legal document requiring councils to meet the needs of a child or young person. Her son struggled with the transition from primary to secondary school due to the lack of suitable provisions for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at his secondary school. As a result, he had to be withdrawn from education, leading to a hit on his confidence. Miss Hadley’s experience is not unique, and a survey by BBC Radio 4 program suggests that 73% of mothers believe that the UK SEND system is broken.
Miss Hadley’s finances began to dwindle, and she began to struggle with her mental health, leading to her reliance on benefits to support her family and pay her mortgage. While her son has returned to school this term, she hopes that parents of children with SEND will get a solution soon. Some parents, like Nigel Stansbie, have had better experiences with their local authorities’ support for their children with additional needs. His eight-year-old son, who has Down’s syndrome, has received steady education support from the local authority since he was born. They have enjoyed constant communication and one-to-one support from the school.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Katie Nellist’s experiences reflect a different reality, and she says the school system “completely ruined” her life. Currently diagnosed with PTSD, which she links to her school experience, she had struggled with the pressure of Year 6 exams due to her undiagnosed autism. Although her primary school leadership did their best to help her, she did not receive the support she needed. At secondary school, she eventually had a mental health crisis and tried to enroll in a specialist school for SEN children, but there were no vacancies available. Learning to be a horse-riding instructor, Katie still wishes she were in school, sitting for her A-Levels – but they are no longer possible for her to obtain.
The BBC Radio 4 program survey underscores the need for the UK SEND system to be fixed. The UK government’s School Standards Minister Catherine McKinnell acknowledged the importance of putting education at the heart of national life. However, finding solutions for improving the experience of parents and children with SEND requires practical efforts to overcome the difficulties in the current system. The school heads and local authorities have a deep responsibility to support their students with the additional needs they have and bring an end to the current struggles experienced by some parents and students
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
