If Keir Starmer cuts SEN support, kids like my Fin will end up on the scrapheap…it's not in best interests of children

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

THE Government is looking at removing the legal rights for children with additional needs to have extra support in school.
As a mum of two autistic youngsters, I ask
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Mum Lisa Lloyd has two autistic youngsters
Credit: Supplied
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Lisa has fought to get son Fin, 11, support, pictured with husband Terry and daughter Poppy
Credit: Supplied
Like thousands of Sun readers who are Special Educational Needs parents, I fought to get my son Fin, 11, support.
He was diagnosed aged six after four years on a waiting list.
At his mainstream primary school, he was a year ahead of his classmates in reception and Year One but by Year Six he was two years behind.
He was changing before our eyes.
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He started having mental health problems because his autism meant he could not cope with the noise and pressure of a classroom, and it was hard to even get him out of the house.
The school applied for an Education Health And Care Plan (EHCP), which give children a legal right to ­support, but despite his clear needs we were refused an assessment.
I was shocked. Surely if you see a child falling, you catch them before they hit the ground?
Not in the SEN world. Everything is a 'no' to save money.
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We went away and gathered ­evidence. In that year Fin became a shadow of himself.
He would come home with his jumper chewed to bits, his nails bitten until they bled.
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We got the EHCP and, as a result, the support he needed.
The difference between our son before and after the plan was night and day.
Magically perfect
Without it I have no doubt he would not be in school now.
His mental health was so bad he wouldn't have survived mainstream.
Now he is catching up and he's got his personality back.
Imagine Fin replicated across the country tens of thousands of times.
We got the EHCP and, as a result, the support he needed. The difference before and after the plan was like night and day
Lisa
I know they are out there because parents talk to me when I post about SEN on TikTok or Instagram.
Without support, these children cannot learn or pass exams.
There is every possibility they could end up on benefits without a job.
The Sun's Give It Back campaign has long called for greater support for SEN pupils.
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The Government is looking at removing the legal rights for children with additional needs to have extra support in school, pictured Lisa with her young children
Credit: Supplied
But if the Government carries out its idea to limit EHCPs to only children with 'high medical needs', more young people will end up on the scrapheap.
The thinking is that the government will make mainstream schooling more inclusive so EHCPs won't be needed.
But I just don't accept this is in the best interests of children.
Fin became a shadow of himself. He would come home with his jumper chewed to bits, his nails bitten down until they bled
Lisa
What happens if the money isn't there? How is the government going to ­afford to make all schools inclusive?
How long will it take? What will happen to EHCPs between now and schools becoming magically perfect?
If SEN children aren't supported properly under the new plans it will affect every child and teacher because resources will be so stretched.
Inclusion doesn't mean treating everyone the same.
It means having the facilities and support to enable all children to attend and access lessons.
A big class size in a noisy school is not the best environment for lots of children.
How will they limit class sizes when schools are getting bigger not smaller?
You can't cater for every child's needs. What you can do is offer more support to those who require it.
That should be written down and legally guaranteed — and that's what EHCPs do when they work properly.
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'If the Government carries out its idea to limit EHCPs to only children with 'high medical needs', more young people will end up on the scrapheap', warns the mother
Credit: Supplied
The best way to sort out the SEN crisis is to make sure children are diagnosed early and quickly, instead of the five years it can take — by which time families are in c­risis.
Build more SEN schools including for the SEN-betweeners — kids like Fin who are academically bright but can't cope in a mainstream environment.
Give children support plans and fund them properly.
Money is wasted.
The Disabled Children's Partnership found ­councils are spending £100million a year FIGHTING SEN ­parents in court, only to lose 98 per cent of cases.
Too much money is going to the 'suits' from local authorities.
They make decisions about our children without ever having met them.
I've seen government after government fail to address the SEN crisis because they do not listen to ­parents and children or the organisations who work on the ground
Lisa
If schools who know and care about young people got the money directly, that wouldn't be an issue.
Another massive waste is parenting courses councils are using as a barrier to support.
SEN mums and dads are expected to take time off work for weeks to attend these before they can get help.
I haven't met one person these have helped. It's a form of parent- shaming as it suggests you don't know your child or how to care for them.
I also wonder if the EHCP idea has been leaked to test reaction.
I've seen government after government fail to address the SEN crisis because they do not listen to ­parents and children or the organisations who work on the ground.
Both Fin and my daughter Poppy, eight, are in brilliant specialist ­provisions education now and doing well.
But it took EHCPs to achieve this.
My hope for Fin is that he will develop enough belief in himself to get a job, get married and one day have his own house.
If he is happy and mentally OK, everything else will fall into place.
SEN parents should be allowed to dream ordinary dreams — our kids just need a bit more support to achieve them.
Lisa Lloyd is the author of Raising The Sen-betweeners. Her TikTok handle is @asd.with.a.g.and.t
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Lisa Lloyd is the author of Raising The Sen-betweeners
Credit: Supplied
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The Sun's Give It Back campaign has long called for greater support for SEN pupils