The National Education Union (NEU) has announced its support for the Save Our Children’s Rights (SOCR) campaign, with both organisations united in their commitment to defend and strengthen the legal rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
With the Schools White Paper due to be published early this year, SOCR and NEU are jointly calling on the Government to ensure that proposals:
- Protect existing children’s SEND rights
Legal rights, underpinned by clear accountability, are essential to ensure children and young people with SEND receive the support to which they are entitled. - Retain access to Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for all children with SEND
While early and effective intervention in schools may reduce the number of children who require an EHC plan, the existing legal thresholds for statutory assessment and for issuing an EHC plan must be retained to ensure that children and young people have access to enforceable provision. - Create a sustainable system
The current crisis is the result of expanded statutory duties without sufficient funding, and cuts to mainstream schools and their support services. This has contributed to a shortage of appropriate provision and serious difficulties in recruiting and retaining both school-based and specialist staff. - Build SEND capacity in schools and invest in specialist services
SEND funding in schools must be significantly increased and ring-fenced. Teachers and SENCOs need protected time to work with families, plan support, and lead inclusive practice, with access to specialist services before statutory assessment becomes necessary.
A spokesperson for Save Our Children’s Rights said:
“The current legal framework set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 has been endorsed as robust and fit for purpose by two House of Commons Education Committee inquiries in 2019 and 2025. We are calling on the Government to ensure the Schools White Paper commits to protecting the existing SEND legal framework and delivers the funding needed for a sustainable, inclusive SEND system, regardless of a child’s category of need or the setting they attend. This is essential to support children and young people with SEND now and in the future.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary, National Education Union said:
“Educators see first-hand the impact of an underfunded SEND system on children, families and school staff. The legal framework is not the problem; the lack of investment and capacity is. The Government must listen to those working in education and commit to a properly funded, inclusive system that enables every child to thrive.”