{"id":80977,"date":"2026-01-29T16:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?page_id=80977"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:00:25","slug":"nearly-half-of-all-parents-fear-educational-support-will-be-taken-away-from-their-disabled-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/uncategorized\/nearly-half-of-all-parents-fear-educational-support-will-be-taken-away-from-their-disabled-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly half of all parents fear educational support will be taken away from their disabled children"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New research highlights families\u2019 deep concern ahead of government plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system \u2013 with parents fearing the changes could strip away the limited support their children currently receive. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

29 January 2026 <\/strong>\u2013 Parents of disabled children with the most complex needs say they fear government plans to reform England\u2019s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system could strip away the limited support their children currently receive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New research by national disability charity Sense reveals families are already being failed by the existing system, with nearly half (47%) worried that current support could be reduced further, worsening their situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children and young people who need additional support in nursery, school or college currently access this through the SEND system, by applying for an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) which provides a guaranteed, legal right to support. However, families frequently report long delays, inconsistent decisions and costly, adversarial processes – leaving even children with the most complex needs without the help they are entitled to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense\u2019s research*, conducted by Censuswide with 1,000 parents and family carers of disabled children with complex needs**, reveals the scale of the problem. Nearly half (48%) described the process of securing SEND support as stressful, while almost a quarter (22%) said their child\u2019s school was not delivering the legally binding support set out in their EHCP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact on families is severe. Two in five parents (40%) said they had been forced to reduce their working hours due to a lack of appropriate support for their child, while more than a third (35%) had left their job altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop of systemic failure, parents are now deeply concerned about what reform might mean for their children\u2019s future. Half (50%) say they are \u2018nervous\u2019 about the upcoming changes, while a third (34%) do not believe politicians have their disabled child\u2019s wellbeing at the heart of decision-making.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings come as the government prepares to unveil long-awaited proposals to overhaul the SEND system in the coming weeks. While full details have not yet been published, options reportedly under consideration include removing the legal right to support from some families and shifting responsibility for applying for support from parents to schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families have told Sense they fear these changes could weaken their children\u2019s legal protections and result in further cuts to an already underfunded system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense is calling on ministers to ensure that the needs of disabled children with complex needs are properly understood and fully addressed in any reform of the SEND system. The charity, which is a member of the Disabled Children\u2019s Partnership (DCP), warns that without robust legal rights and adequate funding, vulnerable children risk being left even further behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Watson-O\u2019Neill, chief executive of the national disability charity Sense, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cA shocking number of children are being failed by a baffling and underfunded SEND system. Too many are falling through the cracks \u2013 at the cost of their happiness, wellbeing and future life chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cSo it\u2019s little surprise that parents feel deep anxiety and distrust about the upcoming education reforms. If their children\u2019s legal rights are weakened any further or there\u2019s an attempt to cut spending, the consequences could be devastating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cInstead, the government must listen to families and use this moment to build a properly funded SEND system, where children\u2019s legal rights to education are protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThat must include a joined-up workforce strategy and sustained investment in the professionals who support disabled children to learn, so that every child can thrive in the nursery, school or college that is right for them, no matter how complex their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CASE STUDY: \u201cThe ordeal we went through to get Harvey\u2019s EHCP was horrific for our whole family\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Kimberly Hind and her son, Harvey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harvey Hind, who is deafblind, only just turned five this January, but can already count past 1,000 and recite the alphabet forwards and backwards. Since starting a special school for deaf children last September he has thrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Harvey, who lives in North West England with his mum Kimberly Hind, 35, dad Sam Hind, 34, and his two non-disabled big brothers, Thomas, 10, and Max, 8, should have started at his special school\u2019s nursery a full year before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimberly says he lost the nursery place he was offered from September 2024 while waiting more than a year for an EHCP \u2013 far longer than the 20-week legal deadline. Instead, Harvey faced a \u2018horrific\u2019 struggle in a mainstream nursery that couldn\u2019t meet his needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvey has very limited vision and uses bilateral cochlear implants to help him hear.  His busy mainstream nursery, filled with other children and noise, was overwhelming for him. Every morning he was due to attend, he became extremely distressed. For three months, he didn\u2019t go in at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Kimberly was forced to give up her full-time job managing a primary school kitchen to focus on Harvey \u2013 a major financial hit for her family, left to depend on Sam\u2019s wage as a shift line operative and her \u00a3327 monthly carer\u2019s allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mum had applied for Harvey\u2019s EHCP in plenty of time. After her application was accepted by her local authority in January 2024, a final plan should legally have been issued by mid-June 2024. But Harvey\u2019s draft plan only arrived on 4 December 2024 and the final plan on 13 February 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A multisensory impairment (MSI) children\u2019s specialist from Sense stepped in to support Harvey and train the staff at his mainstream nursery, so he could cope better until he finally switched to his specialist setting. However, Kimberly says Harvey still feels frightened of other children because he experienced so much anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While recognising that reform is needed, Kimberly is nervous about the changes that might be coming for the SEND system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimberly said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel confident at all about how the education system might change for disabled children \u2013 and this is from actual experience; it\u2019s not just an opinion. You can change anything by law but the local authorities still won\u2019t follow it. They don\u2019t have the staff, the funding or the training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m nervous there might even be funding cuts. It is very worrying. I\u2019m just relying on Harvey\u2019s school to save him and make sure that, whatever happens, he keeps getting the educational support he needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ordeal we went through to get Harvey\u2019s EHCP, which he was fully entitled to, was horrific for him and our whole family. Harvey lost his pre-school place at a specialist school because his EHCP took so long and he struggled severely in a mainstream nursery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t physically make him go in because he was so anxious. He\u2019d make himself sick and try and harm himself \u2013 he\u2019d never done that before. And at nursery, he was pulling off the external part of his cochlear implants for the whole day. Normally he loves his implants but I think he was so overwhelmed he didn\u2019t want to hear anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe staff at his mainstream nursery were fab, but nobody there really know what to do because they hadn\u2019t had a child like Harvey before. In the end, we kept him off totally for a few months and I had to stop working. I was at the point of pulling Harvey out of education completely when an MSI specialist at Sense stepped in to help us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow Harvey is at his special school, in a small class of five instead of a big group, he\u2019s like a different child. When he wakes up in the morning the first thing he says to me is \u2018Mr Jones\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s his class teacher. He runs out the door to his school taxi and comes back home extremely happy. He\u2019s come on so well cognitively too. Everyone says he\u2019s very bright, especially with maths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the ordeal Harvey went through, when he was missing out on specialist provision, has had lasting effects. He loves adults and he loves his brothers but he\u2019s still frightened of other children and won\u2019t interact with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think those early years of education are so important and if disabled children with complex needs miss out on them it has an impact for a very, very long time, if not forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENDS<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*The research was conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of Sense.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1,000 UK respondents who are parents\/carers of a disabled child with complex needs aged under 18 were surveyed between 14 November to 22 November 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

** \u2018Complex needs\u2019 was defined in the research as deafblindness or at least two of the following: sensory impairment, a learning disability, autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n

Contact Sense’s media team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For more information, please get in touch with the Sense media team on mediaenquiries@sense.org.uk<\/a> or call 0203 833 0611.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A critical moment for SEND<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Government is expected to set out its plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join our campaign for change<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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