We seem to have gone from “your voice matters” to “decisions have already been made” in less than the blink of an eye.
On the very day the Schools Minister, Georgia Gould, was explaining “your voice matters” (in one of those strange reels the DfE’s comms operation is so inexplicably proud of), the Government legal department was responding to a challenge by a parent about the lawfulness of the SEND reform consultation process. There is no duty to consult, they opined, because the decisions have already been made. Just. Like. That.
Views not required
“Total farce” is an obvious conclusion. As is “bad faith”. As are as many far ruder words.
How, in the name of decency, can ministers talk endlessly about “building trust” with parents, when they behave like this? First we had the ridiculously late and limited ‘national conversation’ on SEND in which the conversation was all one way with parents not allowed to ask questions or make comments; now we have this absolute sham of a ‘consultation’.
This is what the letter, which SNJ has seen, says from government lawyers to SEND solicitor Polly Sweeney of Rook Irwin Sweeney, who represented the parent in the case.
“In relation to the matters you focus on, the Secretary of State has made decisions about them and thus has chosen not to consult on them (hence there are no specific questions about them, and also why at page 21 it states “each section contains relevant consultation questions”).”
From paragraph 16 of letter from Government Legal Department, 18 March 2026
Now we know why Bridget Phillipson was so peevish last week about SEND lawyers and what she describes as ‘vested interests’ fretting about disabled children’s legal protections.
“16. In any event, if something has already been decided upon, and there is no duty to consult in relation to the subject matter of that point, then Gunning simply has no application. It is open to a decision maker to not consult absent one of the limited circumstances creating a duty being applicable. In relation to the matters you focus on, the Secretary of State has made decisions about them and thus has chosen not to consult on them (hence there are no specific questions about them, and also why at page 21 it states “each section contains relevant consultation questions”). Voluntary consultation only extends as far as the matters on which there has been a decision to consult. The Consultation contains information about the duty to deliver the educational offer in an EHCP being placed on schools, and as to the Tribunal’s powers on an appeal. However, this is contextual information which tells readers of the Secretary of State’s position on them. The Secretary of State is not seeking views or representations on them and is not consulting on them.”
Extract of the Government’s letter that you can find here on the RIS website
An insult to parents and their disabled children and young people
It is an absolute insult to all the parents who are making the time and effort to understand what the SEND reforms mean for their child and planning their own individual consultation responses to learn that the main decisions have already been made and this current exercise is just so much window-dressing.
So what happens now? The family who brought the challenge on behalf of their daughter Jessica are considering what the next steps should be. Jessica’s mother, Melissa Hayhurst, says:
“To be told that some of the most significant changes to the SEND system have effectively already been decided, without meaningful consultation, is deeply concerning. Decisions of this scale should not be predetermined behind closed doors, without properly engaging the families who rely on these protections every day.”
Melissa Hayhurst
An urgent letter
The family’s legal team – Polly Sweeney and Beth Parr of RIS, with support from Steve Broach KC – are now writing urgently to the Government Legal Department seeking clarification on when key decisions were taken, and requesting disclosure of relevant documents.
Commenting on the Government’s letter, Polly Sweeney said:
“It is deeply regrettable that the minister has already made decisions on reducing powers of the Tribunal and removing important legal rights of disabled children and their parents, without consulting on these aspects of the reforms.”
Polly Sweeney RIS
We couldn’t agree more.
What’s next and how can you help?
We have the Save Our Children’s Rights protest in early May, date btc (we’re awaiting permisions). We aim to hold demonstrations in London and at key points around the country, with support from the NEU. If you’d like to hold your own small event—event a protest picnic—if no regional protest is close enough, SOCR hopes to be able to support you.
We have a form where you can tell us if you would attend, if you would like to help out, or if you’d like to help organise an event, tell us here.
If you can donate to help SNJ keep going—this is a LOT of work for volunteers—we use fee-free donation platform Zeffy
As for us, we’re going back to check what the consultation questions cover and what they don’t. One of the reasons parents have been struggling to know how to respond is because the questions are so partial. So we must assume that anything that isn’t the subject of a specific consultation question has already been decided by ministers.
What other conclusion can we come to?
The last word, for now, goes to Melissa Hayhurst:
“The fight is not over. Families need to understand what is at stake and use their collective voice. If we don’t speak up now, decisions about our children’s futures will be made without us.”
Definitely watch this space. This fight has only just begun.
Disabled Children’s Rights are Under Attack.
We’re fighting, but we can’t do it alone: we need your help more than ever.
We’re volunteer-run, but costs are rising. To help us keep going, please consider a one-off or, if it’s possible, a regular donation.
Read more about being a regular donor here.
We use Zeffy to fundraise, which doesn’t charge us a fee, so 100% of your donation reaches us.
Key Content
Also read:
- What makes an autism assessment report genuinely useful to a school?
- Big ideas belong to everyone: Education, rights and lifelong learning for people with learning disabilities
- As The Guardian prints our joint campaign’s open letter, it’s clear people with lived experience don’t want to lose SEND rights
- How do you ensure pathways to education, health, and social care support, meet both diagnosis and needs?
- Researching flexi-schooling: How beneficial is it for children with SEND?
- Oops, we did it again… The Government must now listen to more than 100,000 people who do not want to lose SEND rights
- Experts at Hand: When is an occupational therapist also a SEND expert?
- Could using AI to filter Government consultation responses lead to “algorithmic silencing” of neurodivergent voices?
- A council’s “improvement journey”? How determined SEND parents catalogued the trail of their LA’s unlawful behaviour
- Research: Social networks in special schools. Friendships, bullying and play
- CrowdJustice SEND accountability: When the law says “must”, local authorities cannot treat it as “maybe”
- DfE must give its SEND reform Child Rights Impact Assessment a do-over; this time, without marking its own homework
Also read:
- CrowdJustice SEND accountability: When the law says “must”, local authorities cannot treat it as “maybe”
- Why my daughter’s SEND experience means we’ll take this consultation judicial review fight wherever it needs to go
- The Government doesn’t care about your views of the SEND Tribunal—it’s already decided to kneecap it. We must not accept it
- Legal challenge launched against government SEND proposals that “significantly weaken the legal rights of children and young people”
- The law on SEND HAS NOT changed! But restricting EHCPs would be legally-sanctioned gatekeeping and a decimation of rights
- The 1% club: LAs win almost none of 25k SEND appeals, at an indefensible cost of over £200m. Plus, a shocking announcement
- Why the Human Rights Act matters when advocating for your child with SEND
- Why legal aid may now be available for SEND families challenging school exclusions
- When the LA wants to cease to maintain an EHCP: The law and some top tips
- 55% rise in 2024 SEND Tribunal appeals. LAs’ 1.3% success rate cost £153m. The cost to families? Incalculable
- GIVEAWAY: Making Lawful Decisions by Victoria Butler-Cole KC and Steve Broach KC
- A record rise in SEND appeals, and challenges for teachers accessing school support. Things are not getting better…
What kind of government is “bold” enough to scrap statutory EHCPs from vulnerable children?May 16, 2025
The SEND reforms in the Schools White Paper reveal rights given, and rights stripped awayFebruary 24, 2026
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
- What makes an autism assessment report genuinely useful to a school? - October 14, 2026
- Big ideas belong to everyone: Education, rights and lifelong learning for people with learning disabilities - October 12, 2026
- As The Guardian prints our joint campaign’s open letter, it’s clear people with lived experience don’t want to lose SEND rights - October 9, 2026
Please share this article!
Discover more from Special Needs Jungle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
