Taking our Save Our Children’s Rights petition to 10 Downing Street

13 January 2026

On Monday 12 January, we joined our Save Our Children’s Rights campaign partners at 10 Downing Street to hand in our petition calling on the Government to protect the legal rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The petition, signed by an incredible 132,789 people, urges ministers to retain the SEND legal framework that says children and young people are entitled to an education that meets their individual needs. The petition also secured a parliamentary debate back in September, when more than 90 MPs overwhelmingly supported the call to retain SEND legal rights.

Phoyo of Save Our Childrens Rights campaign team outside Downing Street

Photo of the campaign team outside 10 Downing Street. Left to right: Chris Coghlan MP, Daisy Cooper MP, Suzy Yardley, Catriona Moore, Sharon Pratt, Rachel Filmer, Renata Watts, Tania Tirraoro, Gill Doherty, Gregory Stafford MP, Neil Duncan Jordan MP

We were pleased to be joined at the hand-in by MPs Chris Coghlan, Daisy Cooper, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Gregory Stafford, all of whom have spoken out about the importance of protecting and upholding SEND legal rights.

IPSEA’s Chief Executive, Madeleine Cassidy, said:

“IPSEA is proud to be a partner in the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign. Children and young people with SEND need a system that works for them, underpinned by strong, enforceable legal rights. These rights are not optional, but essential safeguards that ensure children can access education and thrive. We stand with parents, carers and young people in calling on the Government to commit to protecting and enforcing these vital rights.”

A message to the Prime Minister

On the morning of the petition hand-in, we also released a powerful new campaign video entitled ‘Dear Prime Minster’. The video features actor and campaign supporter Sally Phillips, alongside parents, carers, children and young people from across England. Together, they call on the Prime Minister to protect and properly enforce the existing SEND legal framework, warning that any dilution of legal rights would have devastating consequences for families.

Why are we campaigning?

The Save Our Children’s Rights campaign is a joint initiative with others in the SEND sector, and was launched in response to growing concern about the Government’s plans to reform the SEND system - in particular, comments reported in the media about the future of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. For many months, ministers have signalled major reform, while remaining worryingly vague about what this could mean for children and young people’s existing legal rights to special educational provision and support that meets their needs.

The Department for Education is currently developing a Schools White Paper, expected early this year, which will set out the Government’s proposals for SEND reform. White Papers typically precede new legislation, raising understandable concern that hard-won statutory rights, clearly set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice, could be weakened or removed.

For families who already face long delays, constant barriers and unlawful decisions and constant barriers, this is deeply worrying. The petition, started by Special Needs Jungle’s Campaign Manager Rachel Filmer, was intended to make those concerns clear and to send a strong message that weakening or removing legal rights is not the solution to the SEND crisis.

IPSEA's Policy Manager, Catriona Moore, speaks to Sky News about our joint campaign to Save Our Children's Rights

How you can help

Handing in the petition is an important milestone, but our campaign continues. As the Government considers changes to the SEND system, it is vital that families’ voices and experiences are heard.

You can support the campaign by:

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition, and has supported the campaign so far.

Donate now to drive our work championing and protecting the rights of children with SEND

 At IPSEA, we’re fighting every day to make the SEND system work for children and young people with SEND. But we can’t do it alone. As an independent charity, we rely on donations from people like you, often parents or carers of children with SEND, who know firsthand how children with SEND are being failed. 

Donate £10 today to help us maintain pressure on decision-makers to ensure that children and young people with SEND have the opportunity to thrive, and that their legal rights are protected.

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Author: Holly Johnson

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