Let Us Learn Too

NAMES, NOT NUMBERS.

Today we’re launching our Names, Not Numbers campaign.

For years, families of children with SEND have been left fighting for support that should have been available to them without a battle.

We’ve been told our children’s needs aren’t serious enough, support wasn’t available, what we were asking for wasn’t possible under the law only later to discover what we were told was simply wrong.

These experiences are not isolated. They have been repeatedly experienced by families across the country, year after year.

That is why we are asking Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Local Government to formally acknowledge what SEND families have experienced and apologise on behalf of local authorities for the way we have been treated.

An apology won't fix the SEND system. But accountability has to start with acknowledging what has happened.

As the Government considers major reforms to SEND, we cannot allow the same culture and practices to continue under a new system.

Please watch. Please share. And please sign our petition.

Every signature is another family saying:

We were here.
We experienced this.
We will not be reduced to a number.

We are names, not numbers.

🔗 Sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/776045

The question I most wanted to ask the Minister was this one.

Ever since I started campaigning, I’ve been frustrated by the lack of recognition of what families have been forced to endure when dealing with local authorities. The delays, the barriers, and too often the way parents have been treated have felt like the elephant in the room that nobody in government wanted to acknowledge.

I remember asking a previous minister if they would simply write to local authorities reminding them that the law must be followed. He wouldn’t answer me.

So hearing this response from felt significant.

It isn’t the end of the journey, and there is still a long way to go, particularly when it comes to strengthening accountability in the upcoming reforms. But for the first time, it feels like the experiences of families are no longer being dismissed. They are being acknowledged.

Recognition alone won’t fix the system, but it’s an important first step towards meaningful change.

I was really pleased to recently sit down with Schools Minister Georgia Gould to discuss the proposed SEND reforms and some of the questions so many parents have been asking.

With so much speculation and so many rumours circulating, I hope hearing directly from the Minister helps provide some clarity.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with Schools Minister to discuss the future of SEND and some of the questions that have arisen since the White Paper was published.

One of the biggest concerns I’ve heard from fellow parents is what the reforms could mean for children who are already in specialist provision. In this clip, Georgia addresses that question directly.

The full interview has now been released on YouTube (link here: https://youtu.be/5nHXgD4oxzo?is=qX5A1OJndQMZNM3S).

I really hope you find it helpful.

Sadly, this will not come as a surprise to any parent of a child with SEND.

For years our campaign has been trying to get people to understand what families are really facing behind closed doors. The endless delays. The ignored emails. The battles for assessments, support and provision that children should never have had to fight for in the first place.

Parents are exhausted. Not because they are asking for too much, but because they are forced to fight over and over again simply to get their child the support they are legally entitled to. Many are left feeling dismissed, broken down and made to feel like they are somehow being unreasonable for advocating for their own child.

So thank you to this whistleblower for speaking out and saying out loud what so many parents have been trying to tell people for years. Thank you for exposing the reality of what families are up against every single day.

Behind every delayed decision and every barrier put in place is a child waiting for help. A child losing confidence. A child missing opportunities. A family living under constant stress and pressure.

Families have been saying this for years. We were never exaggerating. We were simply asking people to listen.