“Just really badly behaved” children with parents “swapping tips on how to get their child diagnosed”.

These offensive comments from Conservative councillors in Warwickshire have shocked families across the country. Once again, children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents have been written off and their experiences dismissed.

But this lack of respect goes right to the top of the government. In October, the secretary of state for education, Gillian Keegan, accused parents of exploiting the SEND tribunal process to get their children into “very expensive private schools”.

SEND in schools

Every parent wants the highest standards and best opportunities for their children, but the SEND system in England is fundamentally broken and it is failing families and children across the country.

Parents face heartbreaking battles for the support their child is entitled to throughout their education. Too often, they find themselves fighting for diagnosis in the early years, for support in primary school, and for the right place at secondary school and beyond.

In 2022, fewer than half of all education health and care plans (EHCPs), which set out the support a child will be provided with in school, were issued within the statutory 20-week target. The number of families forced to appeal to the SEND tribunal also reached a record high.

EHCP targets

While families battle for support, increasing numbers of children with SEND are out of school or unable to take part fully in their education. On average, a child with SEND is already more than two years behind their peers at the end of primary school - an attainment gap that grows to a staggering three and a half years by the end of secondary school.

Instead of insulting and denying the experiences of children and parents, the government should be focused on fixing the mess they have created and ensuring every child gets the support they need.

But the government’s long-delayed SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan had little to say on how to repair the broken relationship with parents and only sticking-plaster measures to improve the lives of children with SEND. Children and families deserve so much better than the neglect and disrespect of this government.

Labour’s view is clear - excellence is for everyone. As Sir Keir Starmer set out last summer, the next Labour government will have a clear mission to break down the barriers to opportunity - not for some of our children, but for all of our children. We will put inclusivity at the heart of our vision for education, and we will work with families, schools and local authorities to bring the change our children need.

Labour policy on SEND

Early identification of needs is crucial in ensuring children get the support they need when it matters for their development. Our plans will be guided by experts and evidence. Our early years review, led by Sir David Bell, is already looking at how we can make sure nurseries and early years education are inclusive for children with SEND.

Communication skills are vital for learning right from the beginning but increasing numbers of children are starting school with speech and language difficulties. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is just one of a number of evidence-based programmes proven to transform the language skills of Reception-age pupils. We will roll out such interventions in primary schools across the country to help children develop these foundational skills.

Every classroom in every school has a child with additional needs. Yet despite the year-on-year rising need for SEND support, many teachers do not feel equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to teach them. Labour will fix this, ensuring teachers have the initial and ongoing training opportunities they need, helping to deliver an inclusive education for all their students.

And we will replace single-word Ofsted judgements with a new system of school report cards to inform parents clearly about how their children’s school is performing across a range of different measures, including how well they are supporting the inclusion of children with SEND.

The system of support for children with SEND is fundamentally broken. Fixing this will take time and hard work. But progress can only come from a government that respects parents and families - listening to their experiences and working together to deliver the change we need.

Helen Hayes MP is Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years