- Join our call for Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, to PAUSE further SEND reform plans and PUBLISH the SEND Review responses now!
Christmas is upon us, but we have one more act for this year before we finish. We have decided to…
Continue reading » - The cruelest cuts that jeopardise disabled children’s life chances have become just another day for England’s SEND system
Laycock Primary School is a mainstream community school in the north London borough of Islington. It has a specialist SEN…
Continue reading » - Making Supported Internships work so young people with learning disabilities and autism can thrive
with Julie Pointer, Programme Lead for Children and Young People, NDTi Earlier this year, the Government announced plans, as part…
Continue reading » - SEND Tribunal 2022: With a 3.7% LA success rate, what will it take for the Government to finally understand the law matters?
It’s freezing this week in the Keer stats dungeon – but mercifully, an annual set of statistics about the Special…
Continue reading » - Help us help a SEND family this Christmas: Nominate to win an Amazon voucher or (if you can) donate to help more people!
++ This giveaway is now closed++ If you nominated, check your email and your spam ++ We’re pushing it for…
Continue reading » - A failure of Children and Families Act implementation does not mean rip it up and start again m’luds
The Children and Families Act 2014 – a wide-ranging piece of legislation that includes the legal framework for supporting children…
Continue reading » - Parents call on SEND Minister to invest in deaf children missing vital support in schools
with Juliet, the mum of a profoundly deaf child I've got two deaf children. They've left the SEND system now,…
Continue reading » - School staff need a pay rise, but when LAs don’t pass on government funding, it’s SEND pupils who suffer most
Everyone’s feeling the cost of living crisis right now – and the world of SEND hasn’t been spared. Most children…
Continue reading » - Ofsted: New area SEND inspection framework can be a “catalyst for change”
with Kathryn Rudd, Ofsted Senior HMI for SEND As time has gone on Ofsted and CQC’s SEND area inspections have…
Continue reading » - Don’t write us off before we’ve started, say autistic pupils in new campaign to protect rights and funding
With Megan Horan, Ambitious About Autism A new campaign to stop autistic children and young people being ‘written off’ at…
Continue reading » - Government plans for Level 2 courses leave teenage learners with SEND out in the cold
A high proportion of 16–19-year-olds on courses at Level 2 and below have a special need or disability (SEND). So…
Continue reading » - Why children with SEND in penal detention routinely fail to be given educational needs support
The majority of children who find themselves in penal detention have some form of special educational needs. These needs are…
Continue reading » - Chaos, mistrust, poor inclusion, and no communication: How Kent’s SEND provision has failed its disabled children and their families
With Matt Keer Dear God, Kent, how can you fail children and young people with disabilities and their parents so…
Continue reading » - Ofsted and ONS offer further evidence that lack of funding, training and specialists damages children with SEND
With Matt Keer Ofsted has found increasing numbers of primary school children with SEND are being referred to alternative provision,…
Continue reading » - No specialists = No support: The future for children with SEND is bleak without a trained workforce to support them
SNJ is among 114 SEND-related organisations and professional bodies calling for urgent action over gaps in the provision of specialist…
Continue reading » - With no ministerial oversight for months, has the SEND Review lost legitimacy? Here’s what needs to happen now
Another day, another new SEND Minister – although at the time of writing their identity remains a mystery. It’s become…
Continue reading » - SEND parents under surveillance… is your council watching you online?
For families of children and young people with SEND, social media is one of the greatest assets we have. It…
Continue reading » - Could the SEND Review’s “big ideas” wither on the vine of political uncertainty?
Two Secretaries of State ago, back in the politically distant days of July, the House of Commons Education Select Committee…
Continue reading » - The stark inequalities of social mobility of disabled young adults in England
Childhood disability has been conspicuously absent from longstanding social mobility and intergenerational inequality debates. This is partly due to the…
Continue reading » - Is NHS England breaking a promise to roll out eye care for disabled children in all special schools?
with Aylee Richmond, National Eye Care Information Officer, SeeAbility A few years ago I woke up with vision loss in…
Continue reading » - “Global wellbeing” is out of reach while children and vulnerable adults are routinely restrained in places of “safety”
This year’s World Mental Health Day 2022 theme is to make a global priority of mental health and wellbeing. It’s…
Continue reading » - Parent-blaming to avoid professional accountability is a human rights issue
with Katherine Uher, parent and psychotherapist and Benji Uher We’ve run a number of articles that feature the injustice of…
Continue reading » - 10 top tips for moving local authority with an EHCP
with Liz Arriens Troy, a parent of a child with Down Syndrome The 2014 SEND reforms were supposed to have…
Continue reading » - New SEND Minister, Kelly Tolhurst: many responsibilities but none so important as disabled children’s futures
We’d begun to get a little paranoid at Special Needs Jungle that maybe no one really wanted children and young…
Continue reading » - Gendered misperceptions: Research shows girls with ADHD miss out on school support
Attention, Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD) remains a controversial topic for all sorts of reasons. Research illuminates just by how much…
Continue reading » - How will the government-funded RISE partnership improve local areas’ SEND provision?
with Anna Gardiner, Assistant Director – Health , Council for Disabled Children Earlier this year the Department for Education announced £12…
Continue reading » - I’m a Dad with ASD and ADHD. Here’s why I’ll never give up fighting for my neurodiverse children’s educational rights
with an article from James Alexander, neurodivergent Dad of neurodiverse children **With Will Quince gone from SEND to Health, we…
Continue reading » - What is “special educational provision” in law? How a case of electromagnetic hypersensitivity may help future appeals
Article by Ed Duff, HCB Solicitors A very interesting SEND appeal in the Upper Tribunal caught our eye recently. A…
Continue reading » - SNJ’s response to the EHCP Annual Review Timescales consultation
The Department for Education consultation on EHCP Timescales closed last month. We put in our own response, and we’re publishing…
Continue reading » - An Employment Passport to young people with additional needs into paid work
with Richard Lamplough, My Employment Passport This autumn, thousands of parents will be waving off or delivering their young people…
Continue reading » - What influences the emotional wellbeing of young people with severe dyslexic difficulties?
with Claire Durrant, Researcher, University of Sussex When our child(ren) have a SEND diagnosis, they can be made to feel…
Continue reading » - How The Wave Project makes surfing possible for disabled children
With Ian Bennett, The Wave Project A decade ago, I wrote here about a young Cornwall charity that was helping…
Continue reading » - Top tips for introducing a School Dog to help your students
with Cherryl Drabble, SEND educator Support and animals can have a very beneficial effect on children with additional needs or…
Continue reading » - Helping Businesses Become More Inclusive with SEND Session Guides
with Dan Hughes I don't think that there are many people reading this that would argue that inclusivity isn't beneficial…
Continue reading » - Why the Down Syndrome Act ‘call for evidence’ is also relevant for people with other genetic conditions
Government consultations are like buses. No sooner has one gone by, than another arrives. In the same week the SEND…
Continue reading » - Special Needs Jungle’s #SENDReview Consultation response
A short post to share with you the SNJ SEND Review Green paper consultation response. It was quite a mammoth…
Continue reading » - Falling Through the Cracks: How children with SEND struggle to access early years education
with Catherine McLeod, Dingley's Promise Today we're hearing from Catherine McLeod from Dingley's Promise, a charity trying to drive change…
Continue reading » - Using a different lens for neurodivergent children: Don’t treat them as younger, give them the tools to achieve
A little while ago someone on my Facebook posted a meme that supposedly showed the functional age of a child…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: National standards plans are an assault on the rights and entitlements of children and young people with SEND
One of the main, and most worrying, proposals in the SEND Green Paper is the introduction of National Standards. Some…
Continue reading » - Quince back on board with SEND as the Education Committee sends a shot across the bows
It's finally been confirmed that Will Quince MP will continue to have political responsibility for SEND, and the SEND Review,…
Continue reading » - Without detailed plans for its planned “Inclusion Dashboards”, the DfE is navigating towards an Inclusion Illusion
I don’t mean to show off, but my car has a very fancy dashboard. As well as the standard features…
Continue reading » - How will the new ‘Universal SEND Services’ programme help for learners with SEND?
with Amanda Wright, Deputy Head of Whole School SEND Earlier this year, The Department for Education announced a funding service…
Continue reading » - Legal action launched against #SENDReview Consultation, over “misleading” disability discrimination Tribunal question
It’s all happening isn’t it? As Nadhim Zahawi scarpers to No11 (don’t let the door to Sanctuary Buildings hit you…
Continue reading » - Are new SEND financial accountability measures compatible with lawful SEND provision?
Accountability. Ask most SEND parents, and that’s what they’ll tell you is missing from the current system. Most of the…
Continue reading » - WEBINAR RECORDING: Will Quince MP answers YOUR questions on the #SENDReview Green Paper
If you missed, or indeed want to rewatch, our joint webinar with Children and Families Minister Will Quince on the…
Continue reading » - The Teacher-Parent / Carer Team: Working together for our children by Carrie Grant
Carrie Grant MBE, SEND parent, advocate, and media personality is back to talk about her new book, "Special Educational Needs…
Continue reading » - SNJ in Conversation podcast: Will Quince in our hot seat discussing the #SENDReview Green Paper
Yesterday, Renata and I sat down virtually with Will Quince MP, Minister for Children and Families for an episode of…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview Green Paper second WEBINAR: Ask the Minister, Will Quince. Registration open!
Many of you will have attended or watched our first webinar with Children and Families Minister, Will Quince MP in…
Continue reading » - SEND Stats 2022: How has the pandemic affected the numbers of pupils with SEND?
It’s the middle of June, and that means the Department for Education (DfE) has just published its annual set of…
Continue reading » - The legal implications of the #SENDReview: WEBINAR RECORDING
If you didn't manage to get to our webinar about the legal implications of the SEND Review Green Paper, fear…
Continue reading » - And yet another SEND consultation, this time: EHCP Annual review timescales
Consultations are, it seems, like buses. You wait two years for one, then three come along at once. Or, in…
Continue reading » - Ofsted and the CQC reveal plans for new Area SEND Inspections
**Watch a webinar on the consultation from Ofsted** Every local authority and health body in England has now had its…
Continue reading » - WEBINAR: #SENDReview Legal Roundtable. What are the legal implications of SEND Green Paper?
We've been debating all the merits and otherwise of the SEND Review Green Paper for some time now. But what…
Continue reading » - The SEND Green Paper and the Down Syndrome Act (2022)
We're delighted that Sharon Smith, Parent advocate and PhD researcher, University of Birmingham has joined us as a regular columnist.…
Continue reading » - The #SENDReview must embed Speech, Language and Communication skills across education, especially teacher training
with Amy Loxley, Lead Speech and Language Advisor for I CAN, One of the major criticisms of the SEND Review…
Continue reading » - Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) and Perplexing Presentations – New guidance for social work practitioners
with Sally Russell, Trustee, The PDA Society Scientific rigour in medicine is, thankfully, the rule rather than the exception. We…
Continue reading » - Behaviour management in schools: legally, the playing field has not been levelled
And Alex Stafford, Solicitor, IPSEA legal team member, parent of teenager with SEND The publication at long last of the…
Continue reading » - What’s in the Children’s social care review for disabled children?
Children who are looked after by the state (CLA) are undeniably among the most vulnerable in the country, and those…
Continue reading » - Human Rights, The Equality Act and Inclusive Education: The 12 changes the #SENDReview Green Paper needs for a paradigm shift
Richard Rieser is a disability campaigner and expert in inclusion. This article is his view of how the Green Paper…
Continue reading » - Campaigning for inclusive education for children with Down’s syndrome
with Chris Barnes, Down's Syndrome International Diversity and inclusion. Two words we champion daily, the holy grail for those in…
Continue reading » - The EHCP statistics 2022 don’t tell the whole story. And see who topped the new EHCP LA Hall of Shame!
At the end of last week, the Department for Education (DfE) published their annual statistical summary of Education, Health and Care…
Continue reading » - What are the implications of the #SENDReview for deaf children?
with Justin Cooke, National Children's Deaf Society I’ve got two deaf boys. They’ve experienced some of the best and the…
Continue reading » - What the evidence says about the 13 crucial areas for quality in Alternative Provision
with Dennis Simms, IntegratED Hub Lead The SEND Review Green Paper places great emphasis on including alternative provision within a…
Continue reading » - How can the #SENDReview implement new changes while avoiding the same mistakes of the last reforms?
Let’s kick off with some Green Paper quotes: “Disabled children and children with SEN tell us that they can feel…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: A vision for Alternative Provision, but where’s the evidence?
by Susie Lenihan, Renata Blower & Tania Tirraoro Chapter 4 of the SEND Review Green paper is focused on reforming…
Continue reading » - Bureau of Investigative Journalism finds SEND funding black hole grew by 52% in a year, with one child in a SEND school 412 miles from home
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with a mission to hold power to account. TBIJ…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: Downgrading SENCO training is a mistake but protected time must be mandatory
with Tristan Middleton, University of Gloucestershire & chair, LLSCIC. Under the SEND Code of Practice, SENCOs must be gain a…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: What is excellent SEND provision from early years to adulthood?
So what’s in chapter 3? From the title, you can assume it’s about provision – specifically SEND provision one would imagine.…
Continue reading » - Déjà vu: How will the #SENDReview end the over-promising and under-delivering cycle of support for disabled children?
As you have seen, SNJ are unpicking the detail and supporting parents to have a voice throughout the SEND Review…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: Why mandatory mediation in SEND appeals isn’t wanted–or needed
with Margaret Doyle, author, accredited SEND mediator One of the proposals in the SEND Review Green Paper is for compulsory…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview Chapter 2 under the microscope: National standards, EHCP changes, and limiting choice
As we continue our analysis of the SEND Green Paper, today we're looking at Chapter two, which includes consultation questions…
Continue reading » - What does the #SENDReview Green Paper say about funding the future of SEND?
This post includes an explanation of how SEND funding works in the simplest way possible, before looking at funding in…
Continue reading » - Post 16: What’s in the #SENDReview Green paper for 16-25-year-old disabled young people?
About SNJ’s SEND review coverage: SNJ is bringing you lots of information and analysis about the SEND Green Paper. We…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview Chapter 5 (part 1): The missing accountability question
In this article, we'll be looking at the first part of Chapter 5, dealing with Consultation Questions No. 17 &…
Continue reading » - #SENDReview: Defining Alternative Provision and… how about an apology?
As we all know by now, the SEND Review was published on Tuesday 29th March 2022. The consultation runs for 13 weeks…
Continue reading » - Publication day: Your first look at what’s in the SEND Review Green Paper.
Updates Summary of the SEND review: right support, right place, right time Dedicated SEND Review website Open consultation SEND review:…
Continue reading » - Schools White Paper: what are the implications for SEND?
The Government’s Schools White Paper (herein SWP for short) has just been published, the day before the long-awaited SEND Green Paper…
Continue reading » - The new handbook that’s helping every teacher to be a teacher of SEND
with Erica Wolstenholme, Whole School SEND National Coordinator As it says in the SEND Code of Practice, Every Teacher is…
Continue reading » - How much impact will Early Years SENCOs in disadvantaged areas make to boosting early identification of SEND?
Recently, SNJ co-hosted Will Quince, Minister for Children and Families, on a parent webinar to talk about the solutions his…
Continue reading » - Moving Towards Neurodiversity Inclusion
It's Neurodiversity Celebration Week! When I launched Neurodiversity Celebration Week over three years ago, I never imagined that my campaign…
Continue reading » - SNJ Report: The casual bias and daily discrimination faced by disabled children and their families from ethnic and marginalised communities
A new SNJ survey has highlighted how racial discrimination and unconscious bias are everyday experiences for disabled children and their…
Continue reading » - The law on educational provision to support Ukrainian children with SEN and disabilities arriving in England
with Ali Fiddy, Chief Executive of IPSEA Background image: UNICEF Ukraine from Kyiv, Ukraine, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons…
Continue reading » - “Impowering” the future of SEND where parents and SENCOs just need to be less “demanding”
As the SEND Review Green Paper edges closer - maybe within a week - we decided to look into something…
Continue reading » - LAs: SEND failings are everyone’s fault but ours and it’s too easy to get an EHCP
with comment from Matt Keer and Ali Fiddy Reports about SEND come and go. Some barely make a mark, some…
Continue reading » - We don’t need ”fundamental SEND reform”. Just sharpen the teeth of the legal system we already have.
Getting the Children’s Minister’s attention at a webinar this week attended by 200 parents of children with SEND was an…
Continue reading » - PRE-SEND REVIEW Webinar with Will Quince MP
Yesterday Special Needs Jungle facilitated a webinar with the SEND Minister, Will Quince MP, ahead of the publication of the…
Continue reading » - Opinion: Birth-injury compensation payouts highlight the disparity in support for children born disabled
SNJ note: Parent-carer of a child with complex needs and SEND campaigner, Rachel Adam Smith, joins us as a columnist.…
Continue reading » - Brian Lamb: Will the SEND Review Green Paper deliver lasting improvements for disabled children and families?
SNJ note: Prof. Brian Lamb OBE's Lamb Inquiry in 2009 sparked the last SEND Reforms Green Paper. We're delighted he's…
Continue reading » - Schools need support to implement vital lessons about better SEND teaching, learned from Covid
with Sharon Smith, SEN Policy Research Forum The pandemic illuminated the yawning gap between schools that put high value on…
Continue reading » - Creative reasonable adjustments for SEND learners that don’t have to cost a thing
Today we welcome a new columnist, Susan Lenihan, SEND parent, former headteacher and a SEND Community Alliance campaigner Some time…
Continue reading » - Lockdown stresses worse in parents and their children with intellectual disabilities. Things haven’t improved since
with Dr Hope Christie, Edinburgh University While much of the country is going about their business as if the pandemic…
Continue reading » - 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…
Continue reading » - Helping our disabled children understand that difficult experiences don’t define them or their future
Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2022 is supporting the theme of ‘Growing Together’. The aim is to help and support…
Continue reading » - Eliza’s searingly-honest film about teenage mental health and how the right help is hard to find
With Eliza Gardner, teenage mental health campaigner Children's Mental Health Week gives rise to grimmer statistics every year and of…
Continue reading » - £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.…
Continue reading » - 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 signing images: british-sign.co.uk I learned the British Sign…
Continue reading » - Launching the SNJ Intersectionality Panel focusing on disability, race, and cultural discrimination in SEND
With Marguerite Haye and Mala Thapar, Leads for the SNJ Intersectionality Panel *If this is not an issue that affects…
Continue reading » - School Attendance? What if your disabled child isn’t allowed in?
with Anna C, parent of a child with complex needs The Government has just launched a consultation seeking views on…
Continue reading » - SEND Review: Fait accompli or a real chance for parents and practitioners to shape policy?
with Christopher Robertson, independent academic and author, policy analyst and adviser The SEND Review is promised before Easter with a…
Continue reading » - The Family Experience of PDA – Book Giveaway
with Eliza Fricker, SEND parent and illustrator Eliza Fricker is an illustrator and designer, who is also the parent to…
Continue reading » - Disability, the Equality Act and the SEND Review
Disability campaigner Richard Rieser of World of Inclusion discusses the vital importance for the SEND Review to frame itself around disability…
Continue reading » - 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…
Continue reading »
