An essential Guide to SEND Transport
with SEND Advocate Diana Read SEND transport is usually the final hurdle for families seeking an Education, Health and Care Plan for their child. It’s also one of the biggest …
Category: SEND
£93 million more in SEND funding for respite, supported internships and making LAs do what they’re supposed to
We seem to have a tale of two governments at the moment or perhaps we are flipping between parallel universes. In one, the government is in a chaotic, cannibalistic mess …
Why it’s vital for Deaf children’s futures that British Sign Language becomes law
with Mike Hobday, Director of Policy & Campaigns, National Deaf Children’s Society I learned the British Sign Language (BSL) alphabet as a child in the Brownies. Because of this, I …
Why the SEND Review MUST extend EHCPs to disabled students in higher education
We’ve been calling for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) to cover all young disabled people in education up to the age of 25 since before the 2014 reforms. So …
Growing up disabled: Puberty, privacy & positivity with Siena Castellon and George Fielding
Around one in five people in Britain live with a disability. That’s really quite a lot of people, all who have the same jumble of flaws, strengths, fears, desires and …
What’s the point of the Down’s Syndrome Bill? One parent’s view, plus a legal opinion
with Dr Kieron Smith, father of a child with Down’s syndrome, followed by legal opinion from barristers, Victoria Butler-Cole QC, Steve Broach, and Nyasha Weinberg of 39 Essex Chambers The …
Councils wasted £253 million fighting parents at the SEND Tribunal since 2014 reforms
Somehow, it’s already early December. That means it’s time for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to release their set of annual figures about the work of the Special Educational …
Ombudsman calls for wider powers to investigate SEND and exclusions in all schools
The Local Government Ombudsman has recommended extending its jurisdiction to cover how schools deliver provision to all children with SEND, whether or not they have a statutory support plan. The …
Supported Internships help disabled young people feel valued and socially included
With Jill Hanson, Debs Robinson and Geri Codina One of the biggest concerns for parents as their young people approach adulthood is if and where they will find a job. …
How will the SEND Review create sustainable support that’s also value for money?
SNJ intro: Do you remember the SEND Futures Feasibility study? It was supposed to work out value for money for SEND but not a lot has come out of it …
Finding the racial minority voices in SEND
with Mala Thapar, parent to a teen with autism The word “inclusive” is often used in the SEND sector, and, just as often, it fails to materialise. For families from ethnic …
Heidi’s Down’s syndrome abortion case: It’s complicated
with input from Colette Lloyd Why have we called this article, “it’s complicated’? Because it is completely understandable that a great many women do not want any further restrictions on …
It’s not just SEND teacher training that’s needed. How we educate all children is broken
with Susan Lenihan, educator and parent of children with SEND After the recent BBC programme, Don’t Exclude Me, Joanne Lewis, parent of children with ADHD, wrote two articles, here and …
EOTAS: Education Otherwise Than At School. What is it, and can I get it?
with Nicole Lee, solicitor, SEN Legal Today’s article is from my colleague, Nicole Lee, a solicitor at SEN Legal who is an expert on Education Otherwise Than At School as …
New Budget funds for SEND capital spending. But how did LAs spend previous cash? We checked…
This post contains original research. If you would like to use this, please get in touch. Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced his autumn Budget. He also introduced the …
Coproduction is an illusion for parents and SENCOs
with Professor Adam Boddison Many parents of children with SEND will have come across the term “Coproduction”. It means having an equal and active role in designing whatever it is …
Shameful: Birmingham’s SEND has failed a generation of disabled children
The Department for Education has issued a Statutory Direction to Birmingham City Council over the rotten state of its SEND services. How shameful, Birmingham! Birmingham is the second area to …
BBC’s Don’t Exclude Me (pt 2): Resorting to restraint shows desperate need for better SEND training
with Joanne Lewis parent & ADHD Superpower founder Last week on SNJ, parent of autistic children and … Joanne Lewis wrote about her reactions to the first of the BBC’s …
Don’t Exclude Me: Shouldn’t SEND be the first thought?
The BBC programme, “Don’t Exclude Me” has caused something of a mixed reaction among parents of children with SEND. One of our readers, Joanne Lewis, who’s the mother of two …
Dear Will Quince, welcome to SEND…here’s 10 of your top priorities
Dear Will Quince Welcome to SEND. You will no doubt be feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. And if you’re not, then you must be missing something, because you …