On Saturday 9th May 2026, parent carers, their children and young people with SEND, teachers, campaigners, professionals and allies gathered in 12 towns and cities across England with one clear message for government: Do not remove or weaken children’s SEND legal rights.
Our review of the day includes extracts from the speeches by SNJ’s Renata Watts, who opened the London event, and Tania Tirraoro (whose health difficulties meant her speech was read by SEND National Criris campaigner, Sharon Pratt Dawson). The photos here are only from London, the regional ones will appear on the SOCR website soon.
The national day of action, organised by the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign, of which we are co-founders, brought families and school educators together, right across from the Houses of Parliament in London, and at 11 regional protests in Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Doncaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Stafford, Church Stretton in Shropshire, and the Isle of Wight. For many families, attending was not easy. Travel, care responsibilities, anxiety, sensory needs, fatigue and the everyday exhaustion of battling the SEND system are all barriers. But they still came—and many more joined online through the Facebook livestream, and joined in on social media.
We hope the message of #SaveSENDLegalRights was heard loud and clear on the other side of Parliament Square and around the corner in the Department for Education.
What are we angry about—don’t we want more inclusion?
This wasn’t a protest against inclusion. It was a protest against the misuse of “inclusion” as cover for reducing enforceable rights.
There is a lot at stake: for all but children with the most “complex” needs (whatever that means), the right to support that’s written in law, and enforceable, is slated to be replaced with plans that may not be enforceable at all.
Accountable provision based on a child’s individual needs. The right to choose a suitable school. The right to appeal when things go wrong. All of these are being weakened.
That is why the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign exists. Because without those legal rights, families are left with nothing but promises. And promises don’t get children an education.
Children and young people with SEND need earlier help, better mainstream support, properly trained staff, accessible settings, and a system that does not force parents into years of exhausting conflict. But those things must be built on top of legal rights, not instead of them. And nothing in the current law prevents any of it happening right now, except the will to do it.
Saturday was a protest against reducing individualised provision and parent choice. It was a protest against forcing children into unsuitable provision and pretending it’s for their benefit, when everyone knows the only ones to benefit will be local authorities.
LAs are the sole winners of these SEND reform plans. They’re sighing in relief at the prospect of change that will harm children: debt relief, responsibility relief, accountability relief. These proposals are pretty much local authority laxatives. One dose of councilax and the bottom falls out families’ legal guarantees.
“There were tears, laughter and a whole lot of community strength. Parents, disabled people, campaigners, professionals and allies stood side by side to say clearly that children’s legal rights are not negotiable.
Renata Watts, Special Needs Jungle
There was anger at what families are facing, but also determination, solidarity and hope that we can and will steer history in the right direction. Above all, the protest was a reminder that behind every policy proposal are real children, real families and a community that will not quietly accept those rights being stripped away.”
Families don’t want to fight!
Families came out in their droves because despite their exhaution, they are angry and they are scared. At least with the mess that the current system is in, they know legal redress exists, even though they have to fight through the jungle to get it. There is fear that proposals around national standards, specialist provision packages, new forms of individual support plans and possible limits on Tribunal routes could shift support away from individual legal entitlement, towards standardised, school-managed provision. For children with complex, overlapping or fluctuating needs, that’s the difference between a right and a promise.
Parents don’t go to Tribunal because they enjoy conflict; they go because they need a resolution for their child. They go because support has not been provided, assessments have been refused, plans have been poorly written, or placements have broken down. When families win the overwhelming majority of SEND appeals, the answer is not to restrict their access to justice. The answer is to ask why the system is making so many unlawful or poor decisions in the first place.
Big news: a judicial review is issued
The day before the protest brought big news. Lawyers for SEND parent, Melissa Hayhurst, and her disabled daughter Jessica, have issued a judicial review legal challenge against the ongoing SEND consultation. It argues the consultation is unlawful & unfair, failing to provide sufficient information or ask key questions. You can read about it on the Rook, Irwin, Sweeney website and, needless to say, we fully support Jessica & Melissa’s claim. This consultation has been a self-inflicted wound.
We’ll be covering this more in the coming days. And, we’ll be asking tough questions of SEND Minister, Georgia Gould, in our webinar on Wednesday, so if you haven’t registered yet, please do so—and send us your questions.
Many communities but one message: #SaveSENDLegalRights
What was striking about the protests was the national consistency of the concerns. Whether families were shouting outside Parliament, placard waving in a city centre, picnicing inear sheep in a Shropshire field, making noise on an island, or posting pictures from home because they couldn’t get there, the message was the same: children’s rights are not the problem. The failure to uphold those rights is the problem.
The protest, supported by the NEU teaching union, also showed the strength of the parent-led SEND community. Save Our Children’s Rights, mostly parent volunteers, has brought together families, campaigners, legal experts and organisations who may differ on some details but agree on the central point: disabled children and young people must not lose hard-won protections under the Children and Families Act 2014.
We also heard powerful speeches from presenter and parent campaigner Carrie Grant, a poem from autistic teenage campaigner, Tee-Jay, young campaigner, Charlotte, Bethany from Disability Rights UK, SEND Parents, tea and gin influencers (respectively) Michaela Silsby and Lisa Lloyd, among others. You can find the live stream recordings on Facebook here and here.
An even more hostile environment
Government should listen carefully to voices from across the breadth of the SEND sector. Last Thursday’s local elections has struck even greater fear in the hearts of our families from global majority communities. Councils will now be more influenced by local politicians who do not care about the lives of the Black and Brown families, and care even less for these families with disabled children. We, at SNJ, care. Your children’s rights and safety are as important to us as our own. Because we know that if SEND provision is right for the most marginalised families, it will be right for everyone. That is exactly why retaining the same legal rights we currently have is vital; a red line we will not cross.
Families are not asking for a perfect system to remain unchanged. They are asking for a failing system not to be “fixed” by weakening the only safeguards that currently give them leverage when things go wrong. If ministers want trust, they need to be explicit. Will all children’s rights to an EHC needs assessment remain? Will EHCPs continue to specify individual provision? Will placement decisions still be based on the child’s needs, not a pre-set local menu? Will any new support plan be enforceable, or just another document families have to chase?
Until those questions are answered clearly, the anxiety will remain — and rightly so.That was the heart of Saturday’s message. Reform is urgently needed, but reform cannot mean reducing children’s ability to secure the provision they need. “Ordinarily available” support must not become a new gatekeeping phrase. “Specialist provision packages” must not become a cap on individual support. “Inclusion bases” must not become holding rooms for children who need properly funded specialist teaching, therapies or safe placements. And any new plan or pathway must be clear, specific, accountable and enforceable.
Fix the broken windows of SEND
Saturday was a testament to our incredible community of SEND families that so many turned out to express righteous anger at these poorly thought-out proposals. Labour had a DECADE to watch the 2014 reforms play out. They had YEARS to formulate a workable plan for strong accountability, policies parents actually want, and funding to match. They had time to look ahead after the Pandemic, to build good relationships with parents like us, and to hit the ground running.
But what happened once in office? No plan. Not even the concept of a plan.
Instead, they chose to listen to councils and the right-wing media bleating vile tropes about families. They decided that families just needed to be more like Bridget and her tales of rags to riches. But Ms Philippson cannot see beyond her own personal fight to succeed. What if she’d been born with Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy, or a rare disease? What if she’d been autistic and had to mask to try to fit in? And what if her school had then decided they didn’t want to bother supporting her? Would she be Education Secretary now? We highly doubt it.
Instead of weighing the available evidence, acting on the testimonies of families, and accepting the failures of implementation and funding, she took the easy route. Appease councils and ignore families. The government says it wants a more inclusive system. Families saying: prove it by protecting the rights that make inclusion real across s the country.
Stop trying to be “revolutionary” and start fixing SEND’s broken windows:
- Fix the SCHOOLS that turn our children away, that have policies that discriminate, that fail to help, that rush to exclude.
- Fix school FUNDING that will, in turn, help fix the teaching and specialists shortfall, the overworked SENCO, the lack of resources.
- Fix COUNCIL funding, so they don’t see disabled children as drains on their finances
- Fix GOVERNMENT POLICIES that FORCE long journeys because of a lack of the RIGHT specialist schools
- Fix ACCOUNTABILITY so public bodies have a real deterrent to breaking the law
- THEN, and only then, EHCPs and the Tribunal will fix themselves without messing with good law
“It was an extraordinary moment of connection, with thousands of people joining together in person and online to protect the rights of disabled children and young people.
Gillian Doherty, Special Needs Jungle
So many people worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to make it happen – filling in spreadsheets and permissions forms, lugging equipment and giving up their time to keep people safe. And on the day the creativity, care and love was tangible – with people sharing poems and personal stories, holding handmade signs, and carrying the words of those who couldn’t be there.
There were hugs, and tears too. We may be frightened and exhausted. We may have different views and experiences. But we are not alone – we are in this together and we will keep going until we are heard. Saturday was just the beginning.”
Families are used to fighting and this is just another battle we will win
We know how tired you all are. That it feels like we are fighting and failing. Like nothing changes. Like no one is listening. Despite this, families, practitioners and allies gathered across England anyway. Because we know how to fight: local authority battles have taught us well. And when our children’s legal rights are under threat, we will fight even harder.
Saturday’s protests were visible, determined and deeply personal. Behind every placard was a child who has waited, been refused, been misunderstood, been excluded, or been made to fit a system that was supposed to adapt to them. Behind every chant was a parent or carer who has learned the hard way that warm words do not secure speech therapy, safe transport, specialist teaching or a suitable school place.
Don’t give up—keep making history
It can feel like we’re losing when we don’t feel listened to. But this is what it feels like when you are inside a moment that matters.
We look back at people who changed things, who fought for the rights we enjoy today, and tell their stories like winning was inevitable. But it wasn’t. It felt just like this.
They didn’t know they would win. But they kept going anyway.
SEND shouldn’t be a jungle. Parents shouldn’t have had to spend their Saturday protesting. Our message to the Government is this:
- WORK with us: the parents, carers, grandparents—who’ve lived it for years.
- DROP the plans to change good laws—and we’ll help you.
- FIX SEND’s broken windows—we’ll support you.
- LISTEN to us—we’ll work with you.
But take our children’s rights away? NOT IN OUR NAME.
So, families, practitioners, professionals, friends, allies, after this weekend, keep on going.
Join our webinar. Respond to the consultation. Keep emailing your MPs. Keep speaking to the media. Keep informing other parents and schools what it measn for them.
And most of all, keep on making history so our children will look back at this moment believing we always knew we would win.
Look out for more coverage
There will be more photos and videos of the event posted in the coming days on the Save Our Children’s Rights website, and more articles about the regional events. If you want to get involved, you can sign up here
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Key Content
Also read:
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
- Mainstream SEND Funding: A simple explainer, another consultation, and why it really matters
- The toxic culture of obstruction that’s taken root inside England’s council SEND services is not only unchecked, it’s encouraged
- EHCPs 2026: A relentless rise, but who’s surprised? Plus SNJ’s annual LA Hall of Shame
- The relentless march of SEND reform only hears views that fit the narrative
- SEND 2026: Tracking a decade of rising need with earlier EHCPs and moves to specialist provision for secondary
- The Government thinks Ofsted will ensure SEND reform accountability. This evidence suggests ‘significant concern’.
- Capital carrot, SEND steamroller: The Government’s evidence-light reform route isn’t waiting for anyone
- Not in our name: How manufacturing consent for proposed SEND reforms has broken the social contract.
- Are SEND lawyers REALLY opposing the Government’s reform proposals just to protect their “vested interests”?
- Rights on paper, not in practice: What the legal aid cuts warn us about the Government’s SEND reforms
- Schools White Paper: What do we know so far about funding for SEND?
- Part 2: The Testimonies. Children died; the system looked away. Will government SEND reforms make this scandal even worse?
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- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals - September 3, 2026
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children - August 28, 2026
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people - August 25, 2026
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