Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities will gather in Newport on Saturday 9th May to oppose government plans they say will strip their children of vital legal protections.
The protest, organised by Isle of Wight SEN Stand Up, takes place at St Thomas’s Square from 11.30am to 1.30pm.
It forms part of a national day of action, with demonstrations taking place in towns and cities across England.
What the government is proposing
The government set out its plans to reform SEND provision as part of the Schools White Paper, published on 23rd February this year.
A public consultation on the proposals runs until 18th May 2026.
Campaigners broadly support greater inclusion, but say several specific proposals put children’s rights at risk.
The four key concerns
The first concern centres on a plan to create seven “specialist provision packages” rather than treating every child as an individual.
Campaigners warn that children who do not fit neatly into one of those categories risk missing out on the support they need, a concern also raised by SEND educational experts at an Education Select Committee hearing.
The second concern relates to the role of the SEND Tribunal.
Under the proposals, the tribunal would no longer name the school or provision in an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Instead, it would direct the local authority to remake its decision – a process campaigners describe as a “doom loop” that leaves children waiting while parents face repeated appeals.
The third concern involves new statutory Individual Support Plans, which campaigners say carry no guaranteed right to provision and no legal appeal route.
Parents would be left to complain directly to the school, with volunteer governors expected to handle complex complaints, and families needing to pursue the disability discrimination route without legal support.
The fourth concern is that schools would gain the power to move SEND children into in-school “inclusion bases” without a statutory assessment or a legally-protected EHCP.
Campaigners also question who would staff such bases given ongoing recruitment shortages of teaching assistants, teachers, therapists, and educational psychologists.
What campaigners are saying
Isle of Wight SEN Stand Up said,
“It is already so hard to secure the right support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
“If we lose the legal protections and safeguards, it will become even harder.
“If we don’t speak up now, these rights could be lost.
“Please join us at St Thomas’s Square, Newport on Saturday 9th May, 11.30am to 1.30pm to stand up for SEND legal rights.”
A spokesperson for the national Save Our Children’s Rights campaign said the proposals risk leaving fewer children with the support they need, more children out of school or excluded, and more families forced into legal action to secure basic provision.
The spokesperson added,
“We are protesting to say: do not take away our children’s legal rights.
“These legal protections exist for a reason and must remain in place to ensure that no future government can erode the rights of children and young people with SEND and their families.
“We are ready to work constructively with the government to strengthen the current system — improve accountability, inclusion, and support – to ensure the system is fit for the long term, regardless of who is in Downing Street.”
The wider picture
The Save Our Children’s Rights campaign argues that the SEND crisis stems not from the 2014 Children and Families Act itself, but from years of government austerity, chronic underfunding and education policy that prioritised exam results over inclusion.
The SEND Tribunal rules in favour of parents in 98.9 per cent of cases, and the Local Government Ombudsman also finds in parents’ favour the majority of the time.
The government has pledged to wipe out 90 per cent of local authority high needs debt, subject to agreement on reform.
The Save Our Children’s Rights campaign brings together organisations including Special Needs Jungle, IPSEA, SOS!SEN, Disability Rights UK, Child Autism UK, and the National Education Union, among others.
