— This survey has now closed, please look out for the report in the autumn—
As Sir Kier Starmer’s resignation sinks in, you may be wondering if or how a new prime minister will impact the SEND proposals and the Schools White Paper. There will doubtless be reshuffles once the new PM, presumably Andy Burnham, is installed. Will Bridget Phillipson still be in post? After all, it’s her ideology that’s forcing this relentless pace and direction families do not want.
We need YOU to help change the narrative!
The consultation—that many found really hard to answer—omitted questions on pivotal plans to limit parental legal rights. This is already the subject of a legal challenge. Time after time, the Department has been forced to backtrack, cover up, gaslight or obfuscate (even about its own lawyers’ statements) to wriggle around issues that their lack of understanding has created. Bridget Phillipson’s comms have put words in parents’ mouths and made unsubstantiated claims about the SEND Tribunal. This is the narrative they want to take hold. We cannot allow it to go unchallenged.
Because of the Trump-like consultation shambles, they’re now having to run a consultation on EOTAS (an EHCP package providing education out of school) that wasn’t, then was, but not really, included in the main consultation. That’s still to come—as is the imminent non-statutory Inclusion Base guidance. Additionally, the Education Select Committee has opened an Inquiry into the non-SEND aspects of the Schools White Paper. We’ll be looking at this separately, but you can find it here.
The consultation response that will be published will be filtered by AI—and who knows how the model has been prompted? Do you trust the Government (any Government) to come out and say you know what—they hate these proposals, let’s drop them… Of course not. So we want a counternarrative—your views, unfiltered, including on the things you were not explicitly asked about in the consultation
It’s also a good time to sign the renewed Save SEND Legal Rights petition—a quick and easy action—by autistic teenage campaigner Tee-Jay, supporting the Save Our Children’s Rights campaign—Hands off EHCPs! (Our post here, Direct petition link here & below)
Another survey? Seriously?
‘Fraid so… How things have been done has destroyed any hope of trust in the reforms. Therefore, it’s vital we have a counterpoint to whatever comes out of the SEND consultation. This SEND State of the Nation survey is short, won’t make you tear your hair out, and we promise a human being will read everything! We will publish the report in September.
We need a counterpoint to whatever the Government’s AI makes of its consultation responses. We need other evidence that says what you think of the plans that isn’t leading, exclusive, or impenetrable. So, this short survey aims to understand how parents and carers feel about the SEND proposals, including proposed changes to legal rights, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) thresholds, Individual Support Plans (ISPs), accountability, and access to health and care support.
We would be really grateful if you could share it, post about it on your socials and chat groups.
The deadline for this survey is the week after the end of term, the 31st July 2026.
Take the survey
Your responses will help us build a clear picture of families’ real views and experiences. The survey is anonymous (though you can optionally add an email address if you want us to send you an email when the report is published) and should take around 5-10 minutes.
You do not need detailed knowledge of the reforms to take part. Please answer based on your own understanding and experience. If you are unsure about a question, select “Don’t know” or skip it where possible.
—The survey is now closed—
What else can you do?
It’s been a VERY long year, hasn’t it? And not just 2026, but going back to last year when the rumours about these plans were blurted out.
If you ar planning to write to your MP, check out the #SaveOurChildrensRights Write to your MP tool.
We hope we at SNJ have helped you with your knowledge, understanding, and input to these proposals. If you can help us to keep going, please spare the price of a frappucino or two to help us keep doing it—it isn’t easy, week after week, to sustain this level of work without significant funding. Donate below, or get in touch if you’re a company who would like to advertise or sponsor us.
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.
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”
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Let’s write the true narrative of the SEND reform proposals: We want your unfiltered-by-AI views
- Research shows children in special schools report higher self-esteem than those with SEN in mainstream
- Research: Inclusion for neurodivergent pupils needs lived-experience trainers and getting the wider school environment right
- No inclusion without tackling the “serious fault-line” of exclusions, says children’s legal charity, launching a “roadmap for change”
- “Covid babies” and plans for SEND Reforms: Are We Creating a Forgotten Generation?
- Inclusion bases: Can they help solve the SEND crisis?
- Where will all the teaching assistants come from? The research exposing the reality gap in the government SEND plans
- A sceptics eye on government EHCP prep research shows the “deranged” numbers just don’t add up
- The “enormous burden” of admin and monetary costs to SEND families, supporting a system that should be supporting them
- Evaluating SEND change: Promising prototypes, patchy proof
- “We are living on a knife-edge” SENDCo research sounds the alarm about the high cost of mainstream inclusion
- The complex SEND needs teacher training gap in mainstream schools and how to fix it
- Boost support for children not in school, develop EOTAS guidance, and fund schools to be needs-led, say Ofsted and CQC inspectors
- 10 questions every parent should ask about SEND interventions–Plus a unique opportunity to join QTrobot Autism Research
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
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- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms - September 9, 2026
- 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
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