'Worried for my children's future': New poll finds fears around SEND children's safety

A mum from Bristol who has two children with special educational needs says she worries for their future as a new poll warns professionals do not believe SEND children will be safe if proposed governments reforms go ahead.

A new poll from the National Autistic Society, shared exclusively with ITV News, shows 88% of the professionals surveyed worry about support for SEND children’s mental health and wellbeing because of a lack of capacity.

It also found 79% of autistic people and their carers do not trust that proposed reforms will improve experiences for children with SEND and their families.

Earlier this year the government set out a proposed Schools White Paper - a raft of reforms to the SEND system in England in an attempt to make it more inclusive, shifting from a model that has seen a growing number of young people attend specialist schools.

It laid out plans for mainstream schools to receive direct funding including investment in training for adaptive teaching styles and money to fund specialists such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson promised that education, health and care plans (EHCPs), a legal document setting out the support children with SEND are entitled to, will stay “for children with the most complex needs".

But the changes mean around one in eight children with SEND who currently have the highest support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035.

Mother of two, Gill Crea, from Bristol, said she and many other parents of SEND children don't feel as though the government have looked at the system to properly understand what needs to change.

"We are one of the lucky ones, we got our EHCP, our children get the support they need, many families haven't had that which is really difficult.

"It's not about treating every child equally it's being equitable... A SEND child may need a smaller class size, they may need specialist equipment, they may need further help, which isn't always accessible when you're in a mainstream location.

"The amount of funding that the government is offering is not going to spread across all those schools to give the inclusion they are suggesting is going to be able.

"The fact they are taking legal rights away from children to be able to assess this is something that makes many parents worry that their child isn't going to be treated in a equitable way."

Mel Merritt, National Autistic Society described the data from the National Autistic Society poll as concerning.

"Two thirds of teachers have said they are worried about keeping SEND children safe in their classroom because of a lack of capacity.

"It shows how broken the SEND system is that that many teachers have that concern about safety.

"Only 1 in 10 parents feel like their children with SEND needs are safe at school.

"Its a concern for anyone who's close to the system can see this and the government have to get these reforms right."

She went on to explain how the reform needs to be a 'whole school approach'

"The government's current plans are ambitious but even with the funding that they have already put in it's not enough," she said.

"A lot of the reforms rely on teachers being better trained, more resource and more time but no extra teaching capacity have really been put into the system."

The government hopes the £4 billion package will help make mainstream schools more inclusive, including a £1.6 billion 'inclusive mainstream fund' for early years, schools and colleges, and £1.8 billion to place specialist staff such as SEND teachers and speech therapists in every area.

Reporting History sees journalists join News At Ten anchor Tom Bradby to revisit their remarkable on-the-day reports of the defining events of the modern age. Listen to the episodes below...