Save Our Children’s Rights. That’s the name of a new campaign we have helped create, working alongside Special Needs Jungle and others. There’s no mystery: it does what it says on the tin.

The law is clear that children and young people with SEND have the right to an education that meets their needs, but – as new education reforms loom – every sign from the Government suggests the right to an education, health and care (EHC) plan could be removed from children attending mainstream schools. Local authorities want EHC plans to be drastically reduced, or perhaps even removed entirely, to relieve them of duties they often find costly and troublesome.

The time to act is now

We need to act now, because the Department for Education is working on a schools white paper to be published in the autumn, which will explain what ministers have in mind for children and young people with SEND. A government white paper is a forerunner to new legislation, which could roll back the rights and entitlements that are set out so clearly and unequivocally in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice.

The key to resolving the SEND crisis lies in finding a way to make sure that children and young people receive the provision and support the law says they should have, and strengthening accountability. Changing the law might reduce what’s available for children and young people but wouldn’t reduce their needs. There’s no evidence that a non-statutory system would improve the likelihood of children and young people getting the support they need.

Our open letter published in the Guardian newspaper, signed by IPSEA and more than 100 other organisations and individuals with an interest in SEND, says:

“Without statutory support, underpinned by necessary extra resources for schools, it’s extremely unlikely ministers will achieve their aim of more children with SEND thriving, or even surviving, in mainstream education. A reduction or complete snatching-away of EHC plans in mainstream wouldn’t mean their needs magically vanish. It would, instead, increase applications for already-overcrowded special schools or mean they would be forced out of school altogether.”

Protect, strengthen and enforce the law – don’t undermine it

For more than 40 years, children and young people with SEND have had a legal right to an education that meets their needs. Removing this should be unthinkable. Set against the backdrop of much-criticised plans to cut disability benefits, the concerns reflect growing alarm that the Government seems to be targeting those most in need as a means of saving money. A parliamentary petition on the issue has already attracted over 110,000 signatures and there will be a debate in Parliament about it shortly.

Whatever the SEND system’s problems, the answer is not to remove the rights of children and young people to support that meets their needs. Families can’t afford to lose these vital legal protections.

The system has become desperately difficult for many families to navigate, because obstacles are routinely put in their way. The answer is to protect, strengthen and enforce the law, not to pull the rug out from under the children and young people who need it the most.

What you can do:

• Write to your MP
• Sign the parliamentary petition
• Join the photo campaign

 

About the author

Catriona is responsible for IPSEA’s work in bringing about change by influencing the development of SEND policy nationally. Her background is in public policy and communications, and she has worked for a number of charities and public sector organisations, as well as in Parliament. In the past she has served as an elected councillor in a London borough, a special school governor and a charity trustee. She has personal experience of having a disabled child. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, reading, going to the theatre and being by the sea.

Explore more of our latest policy blogs here.