The SEND system is crumbling under pressure, leaving parents like me to pick up the pieces - Yorkshire Post Letters

I write with regard to your column dated October 27, 2025. As a mum of four children with SEND, I know firsthand how urgently the system needs reform. I waited 63 weeks for an EHCP to be finalised - and that was without any appeals.

I’ve watched the system slow to a crawl, crumbling under pressure while families are left to pick up the pieces.

Over the years, I’ve supported families being put through absolute hell - fighting for assessments, provision, and basic dignity. I know I’m one of the lucky ones. My children have support now, but I’ve seen too many others fall through the cracks simply because they didn’t have the time, knowledge, or energy to keep pushing.

Schools that once had the capacity to support children and young people are now overwhelmed. This leads to absences, safeguarding interventions, and exclusions - all while families already stretched to breaking point are pushed further into crisis.

Even statutory support services like Leeds SENDIASS are buckling. Families who understand the system often end up paying thousands for unregulated advocates, while others are left behind. How is this a level playing field?

Queensway Primary School is a heartbreaking example. A small school in a deprived area, it’s faced a perfect storm: underfunding, lack of control over admissions, SEND failures, and Leeds City Council’s sheer incompetence. At the heart of this are 35 children - most with SEND - who would struggle to find places elsewhere if the school closes.

I moved my son to Queensway after the first closure attempt. His previous school couldn’t meet his needs. He was shut down, withdrawn, and his autism diagnosis opened no doors. At Queensway, we found love, care and understanding - something I’ll never forget. But budget pressures forced the school to merge classes and he couldn’t cope.

He’s now thriving in a resourced provision at another local school, but my heart will always be at Queensway. Had Leeds recognised and supported the school, it could have remained a vital part of our community - a place where children like my son could flourish close to home.

This is why I spoke at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference this year in favour of our party’s motion on SEND. I wanted to make sure the voices of families like mine - and schools like Queensway - were heard. The motion called for real reform: proper funding, accountability, and a system that works for every child, not just those whose parents can fight hardest.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, recently described the Government’s delays to SEND reform as “an absolute betrayal”. He’s right. While families wait months or even years for vital support, ministers kick the can down the road.

Teaching unions have also raised the alarm. The National Education Union has warned that SEND delays are leaving teachers and support staff overwhelmed, children without the help they need and classrooms under strain. They’ve called for urgent investment in specialist staff, inclusive training, and a system that works for everyone.

Because when one child is failed, it doesn’t just affect that child. It affects every child in the classroom. The pressure on staff, the disruption to learning, the emotional toll - it ripples outward. This isn’t just a scandal for SEND children. It’s a scandal for all children.