'Mainstream schools don't have the time and resources for children with special educational needs due to lack of funding', says Yorkshire mother

'Mainstream schools don't have the time and resources for children with Special Educational Needs due to lack of funding', says Sally Ellis.

George went to a mainstream primary and had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which set out the support he needed.

He is currently attending a special school in the county.

Miss Ellis, 35, said: “The school system in this country is vastly underfunded.

“I found the ECHP system very unhelpful. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) told me ‘there isn’t any money’.

"The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Service (SENDIAS) explained the school hadn’t followed the correct processes.

"It feels like the whole process is about the Government giving as little as possible to the individual instead of a child-centred approach.

“It took me three years to battle for an EHCP at George's primary school and I have personally found it is actually quite difficult to get a place in a special school.

“I basically think mainstream schools don’t have the time and resources for SEN children because they don’t have adequate funding.”