A teenager who spent nearly three years out of the classroom has said children’s ‘futures are being stolen’ because of the failing special educational needs system.
A teenager who spent nearly three years out of the classroom has said children’s “futures are being stolen” because of the failing special educational needs system.
Charlotte Tall, 16, who was diagnosed with autism two years ago, has never been on a school trip nor had a proper results day after a lack of support locked her out of the school system.
At a rally in Parliament square on Monday, Charlotte, from Plymouth, said children are too often falling through the gaps as she called for urgent action to brighten kids’ futures. “When I finally got my autism diagnosis at 14, it should have been a turning point,” she told parents, children and campaigners gathered in Westminster.
“It should have been the start of proper support, understanding and stability, but instead, my school stripped away my support, not added to it. I was put on a reduced timetable. I was left unsafe, unsupported, and eventually out of education completely.
“For 927 days, nearly three years, I was denied a full-time education. 927 days of missed lessons, missed opportunities and missed milestones.”
READ MORE: Schools and parents urged to end ‘lifelong impact’ of kids missing class
Charlotte added: “This cannot go on. Children are being traumatised. Families are being broken, but more importantly, futures are being stolen. We don’t need sympathy. We need change, and we need it now, not in 10 years time.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is drawing up plans to overhaul the crisis-hit SEND system in a white paper this autumn. Parents are concerned it could mean changes to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) which offer a legal guarantee of tailored support to kids who need it. The number of children with ECHPs has risen from 3% in 2018 to 5% but cash-strapped councils are struggling to foot the bill.
Agnes Agyepong, 40, said her son, who is now eight, only got his autism diagnosis last year despite her first flagging issues when he was one years old. The mum, from south London, said she is still fighting to get his ADHD diagnosis, as she hit out at a “broken system” plagued by delays and inaction.
And she raised fears that EHCPs could be scrapped, saying: “I’m not saying that EHCPs are the best, but at the moment, they are the only safeguard that we have.”
Ms Agyepong, who is the founder of Global Child and Maternal Health, added: “This is not a SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) issue. If your child is in school and they’re not getting the support that they need, it affects every single child. We don’t want a society where our children are failed and it is kicked down the line.”
Emma Dalmayne, 49, from south London, who runs an organisation called Autistic Inclusive Meets, said many families she works with have been forced into home education – including her 12-year-old daughter – because schools are “failing” children.
Speaking about her daughter, she told The Mirror: “I didn’t want her in school because I knew she’d be failed. I think it’s dreadful that parents are feeling that they can’t trust schools to look after their kids.”
Speaking at the rally, Sir Ed Davey, who has a disabled son, warned ministers that SEND reform is the “last chance saloon” for the Government. The Liberal Democrat leader said he was concerned that upcoming Government reforms to the system would not meet the needs of children – as he called on ministers to ensure families are “at the heart” of any changes.
“There’s lots of opportunity for reform, but I am really worried that the reform that we might get offered won’t meet the needs of our children and young people, and so we’ve got to monitor this Government like never before,” he said.
Meanwhile, this afternoon, MPs debated a petition on SEND, which has received over 122,000 signatures, calling on the government to maintain the existing legal right to assessments and support for vulnerable children.
In response to the petition, the Government said: “There will always be a legal right to additional support for children with SEND. “No decisions have been made on changes to legislation. We are engaging with families on improvements to SEND provision.”
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