Unique classrooms

Yet another poor PR stunt. Fund your schools not PR campaigns.

“That’s not my education secretary,” said the little mouse. “Her priorities are too sponsored.”

“That’s not my education secretary. Her solutions are too Instagrammable.”

“That’s not my education secretary. Her SEND reforms are too invisible.”

“That’s not my education secretary. Her meetings contain too many influencers and not enough teachers.”

“That’s not my education secretary. Her statistics are too bendy.”

“That’s not my education secretary. Her empathy feels mass-produced.”

The little mouse went to the Department for Education.

There were ring lights.
There were media teams.
There was a camera crew following Gemma Collins down the corridor.

“Where are the parents?” asked the mouse.

“Busy filling in tribunal paperwork,” sighed the receptionist.

“Where are the teachers?” asked the mouse.

“Covering three classes and eating lunch over a photocopier,” whispered the office assistant.

“And where is the funding?” squeaked the mouse.

Everyone laughed for a very long time.

Then Gemma Collins arrived holding a branded tote bag and talking about “raising awareness.”

“Is this helping SEND families?” asked the mouse.

“No,” said the parents.
“No,” said the schools.
“No,” said the teaching assistants buying glue sticks with their own money.

But the cameras loved it.

“That’s definitely not my education secretary,” said the little mouse.

fans

The Department for Education thought the priority was using Gemma Collins to promote SEND reform.
You could not script a more tone-deaf PR stunt if you tried.
SEND parents do not need celebrity endorsements.They need functioning provision.

Parents of children with SEND are spending every day fighting for assessments, support plans, school places, and the bare minimum their children are entitled to — so seeing glossy influencer-style promotion at the end of a consultation process feels completely disconnected from reality. Families have been sharing experiences of burnout, exclusion, and systems stretched beyond breaking point, yet somehow this is the message being pushed out. It’s difficult not to feel frustrated by how out of touch the response appears when trust in the system is already so fragile.

❤️

Can anyone explain this?