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You should be able to attend a brilliant school, close to home and friends, that supports your needs. You should feel engaged and enriched at school, with fun, meaningful experiences that allow you to thrive. You should be encouraged to achieve academically and developmentally, and you should be supported to excel and succeed with great careers education and a focus on independence.
Dame Rachel de Souza
Children’s Commissioner for England

“ My School Census confirms headteachers and leaders agree with what children have already told me: that they deeply value education, but where they need extra help, it should be easily accessible and available locally.

Schools have been meeting the challenge of filling gaps in support for children left by years of other services being cut back or under-resourced. Too often, children with additional needs – those which require extra help to attend and engage at school – are ignored, unrecognised or lost in a system that cannot provide the right support.

The government must redefine how it thinks about ‘need’ in school, because for some children even the best teaching will not be enough unless the systems around them can respond to the daily complexities of their lives.”

What the Commissioner has found out?

“It’s really hard to get help.”
SEND Youth Panel member

“When I got my
Education Health and Care
Plan (EHCP) for special needs it was meant to take six weeks to be completed, however it took over 30 weeks. If I had not got the EHCP, I would most likely be out of education as I would have found mainstream school too stressful as they would be unable to provide to my needs.”
Boy, 11, The Big Ambition

A school nurse could come and ask if you want to talk about home life school life or if you just want to talk.”
Girl, 11, The Big Ambition

“Solving root causes of school attendance issues (mental health, discrimination, lack of facilities/adjustments made at school for children who ‘don’t fit’).”
Girl, 16, The Big Ambition

“Support (especially mental
health and SEND support) should be far more easy to access for children. Children shouldn’t have to be on the verge of breakdowns before they get noticed for exam access arrangements, breaks etc.”
Child, 16, The Big Ambition

“They should think about what children actually want not what they want children to have.”
Boy, 11, The Big Ambition

What is the Commissioner going to do?

The Commissioner knows from her school census how much schools do to help their pupils – and that many schools want to do more but don’t have the resource.

How can you get help?

If you are feeling worried about any of these issues you can call Childline for support or go to their website.

If you are living in care, are living away from home, have a social worker or are a care leaver you can contact the Children’s Commissioner’s Help at Hand team.