The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) has launched its latest report and campaign, Fight for Ordinary, which sets out a positive vision for a reformed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England, while also protecting existing legal rights.
The report lays out a five-point plan to make ‘once-in-a-generation’ changes that will improve the lives of disabled children, young people and their families. It also highlights the simple fact that disabled children and young people and their families want nothing more than the ‘ordinary’ things that other children take for granted.
Overwhelming public support
New research commissioned by the DCP demonstrates that there is overwhelming support for disabled children’s ‘ordinary’ expectations to be protected by law – almost 9 in 10 (89%) of the 2,000 adults surveyed agree that disabled children and children with additional needs should have legal rights and protections that give them the same education and opportunities as their peers. What’s more, 94% of those polled believe all children should have a school place where they feel happy, belong, and can achieve; 93% believe children should have timely access to healthcare and 91% agree children should have the opportunity to make friends and take part in after-school activities.
Fight For Ordinary’s launch comes after it was revealed in May that the Government is preparing major changes to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in English schools – and rumours that this could include the removal of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for some children.
Many families, charities and parent groups in the SEND community remain deeply concerned that the removal of EHCPs – statutory documents designed to support young people up to the age of 25 – will take away their child’s legal right to an education that is built around their specific needs.