2024 marks a decade of The Children and Families Act. After two years in the making, the CFA 2014 received Royal Assent.
Three of the four of us SNJ directors were part of Parent Carer Forums at the time in areas that were testing out the reforms, known as “pathfinder areas”. I was in Surrey, Sharon was in Hampshire and Renata was in Hertfordshire. We all worked on the reforms, many meetings with our respective local authorities and with the Department of Education.
Overseeing the reforms for then SEND Minister, Ed Timpson, was Stephen Kingdom, as Deputy Director of SEND at the Department. Stephen was the man tasked with bringing the many elements of the SEND aspects together including bringing parents to the table actively working on the changes.
Some years ago, Stephen “switched sides” from officialdom to become the Campaigns Manager for the Disabled Children’s Partnership, of which SNJ is a member.
Today’s podcast with Sharon and Tania, discusses the preparation of the Act with Stephen, including when and where he thinks things went right and where they have gone wrong.
Also in this series, we’re talking to the recently-retired doyenne of SEND, Philippa Stobbs, Judge Jane McConnell, then head of IPSEA, now President of the Welsh ALN Tribunal, and the SEND Minister who steered the Act through parliament, Ed Timpson.
As well as watching below, you can find the podcast at the following links:
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music
If you don’t have time for the whole podcast now, but want to get a flavour, here are two clips:
Also read:
- All our SNJ In Conversation podcasts
Don’t miss a thing!
Don’t miss any posts from SNJ – simply add your email address below. You must click the link in the confirmation email you’ll receive to activate your free subscription.
You can also keep up with us by following our
Want more? Be an SNJ regular donor!
SNJ is a non-profit and everyone who writes here does so voluntarily. We need your support to help us with costs by donating once or as a regular patron. Find out more here
She is a rare disease & chronic pain patient advocate with Ehlers Danlos syndrome.
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms - September 9, 2026
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN - August 4, 2026
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them” - July 30, 2026
Please share this article!
Discover more from Special Needs Jungle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
