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Keir Starmer is being urged not to diminish the legal rights of children with special educational needs by a new national campaign backed by the actor Sally Phillips and a cross-party group of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs.
The group Save Our Children’s Rights claims the prime minister is “considering taking our legal rights away” as part of the government’s overhaul of special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision in the forthcoming schools white paper for England.
The coalition of campaigners includes the Special Needs Jungle parents group and Ipsea, which represents independent providers of special education advice, and is launching a video addressed to Starmer as well as delivering a petition with 130,000 signatures in support of the existing legal assessment and support for Send children.
The coalition said a cross-party group of MPs, including the Lib Dem deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, Labour’s Neil Duncan-Jordan and the Conservative, Greg Stafford, would be on hand to support the petition being handed to Downing Street on Monday.
The white paper is expected to be published soon, and campaigners fear the government’s priority is to cut the ballooning cost of special needs provision by changing the ways children qualify for extra support.
Madeleine Cassidy, the chief executive of Ipsea, said: “Children and young people with Send need a system that works for them, underpinned by strong, enforceable legal rights. These rights are not optional, they are essential protections that ensure families can secure the support their children need to access education and thrive.
“Weakening the Send legal framework would strip families of these protections, leaving many parents without recourse and risking undoing decades of hard-won progress toward inclusive and equitable education.”
The video shows Phillips, whose son Olly has Down’s syndrome, with other parents, carers, and children and young people with special needs, telling Starmer the current system is in crisis.
The video claims the government’s plans include “removing” education, health and care plans known as EHCPs. These are the legal agreements between families and local authorities that detail additional support.
“Without legal rights, there is no guarantee children like us can access education at all … This is not reform – it is injustice,” says the video, which ends with a direct appeal to Starmer: “Prime Minister, please I am begging you, save our rights.”
The Guardian reported in October that EHCPs would be retained as part of the changes. However, some fear the scope of the plans will be narrowed and that parents’ right to appeal to court tribunals will be removed.
The Department for Education wants more Send children, including those with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, attending mainstream schools in England. It is ploughing £3bn into creating more places within state schools for Send pupils.
Under one proposed change, schools would be given a greater role in deciding the levels of support, dealing directly with parents rather than through councils.
The government has an urgent need to deal with the matter, as accumulated deficits in high-needs spending by local authorities are projected to reach £14bn by 2028. The number of EHCPs is expected to surge past the 639,000 recorded last year, putting further pressure on council finances.
The DfE is canvassing views from parents and schools through online and regional meetings.
The department said: “We have launched the biggest national conversation on Send in a generation, with plans being directly shaped by parents, the sector and experts who know the system best. That engagement will drive reforms that protect what families value and fix what isn’t working.”
