An Isle of Wight support group for families of children with special educational needs and disabilities is calling on both Isle of Wight MPs, the Conservative’s Joe Robertson and Labour’s Richard Quigley, to meet with them as a matter of urgency, warning that time is running out to influence proposed government reforms.
Isle of Wight SEN Support (IWSS) says it shares the deep concerns of parent carer and disability groups across the country about changes set out in the government’s Schools White Paper, published in February 2026.
Reforms to the SEND system
The white paper proposes a series of reforms to the SEND system, including shifting the emphasis of support towards greater inclusion in mainstream settings and introducing a new tiered approach.
Charities such as Cerebra have raised serious concerns, arguing that the proposed shift in provision could accompany a reduction or removal of disabled children’s rights, by making access to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) much harder and leaving schools to decide what provision a child needs.
“The biggest erosion of rights in a generation”
IWSS describes the proposals as the most significant erosion of disabled children’s rights the UK has ever seen – rights they say have been built over decades and are now at risk of being removed under the guise of reform.
The group stresses the urgency of the situation, with the public consultation due to close on 18th May 2026 and a parliamentary vote on the reforms approaching.
More than 100 charities, including Contact, have published a joint report calling for reform to strengthen support and safeguard children’s existing rights, stating clearly that EHC plans must be safeguarded and that access to support must improve.
The group now considers a meeting with its MPs
IWSS has launched a petition that has already gathered more than 260 signatures from parent carers on the Island – and the number continues to rise.
The group wants to present the petition directly to the Island’s MPs so that everyone who signed it feels their voice has reached those in a position to act.
Parent carers have told IWSS they have not received replies to emails they sent to their MPs, which the group says reflects a wider sense that Island families are struggling to be heard.
The group considers a meeting with its MPs, and those MPs subsequently voting against the reforms, to be the last realistic opportunity for Island families to influence the outcome.
An open call to Island MPs
IWSS is now publicly inviting both Joe Robertson and Richard Quigley to meet with them so that parent carers can set out, face to face, what these reforms would mean for disabled children and their families on the Isle of Wight.
With the consultation window closing in weeks, the group says the window for meaningful engagement is fast narrowing.
Anyone wishing to support the petition can do so via the Change.org website.
Take part in the consultation
The public consultation on SEND reform – “Putting Children and Young People First” – closes on 18th May 2026.
Families can respond via the Gov UK website.
