(England) Nearly a third of SPED students "persistently absent"
"We had a very sad little girl," mum Jackie Jellyman says.
Her daughter, Millie, is autistic and was absent for most of her secondary school education.
"It's not [that she] didn't want to go, she couldn't go," her mother says.
Thousands of children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) across the country are absent from their education every year, according to the latest government figures.
Millie Jellyman started at her secondary school in Wednesbury, West Midlands, in Year 7 when she was 11, but only lasted a few months.
She was absent for the rest of that school year before starting at an academy in Walsall in Year 8. She was there for six months in 2017-18 and intermittently in Year 9.
However her parents said the school environment and her anxiety affected their daughter's physical and mental wellbeing so much, they decided to permanently withdraw her when she was 14, without her gaining any qualifications or passing exams.
Jackie Jellyman
Millie Jellyman's family said they felt she did not get enough support from her local council. . .
The borough council did not respond to the specific claims by the Jellymans that the authority failed in their duty of care to their daughter and that they did not contact them or offer alternatives after Millie left the academy.
A spokesperson instead said they took their duties over school attendance seriously and worked closely with schools, families and other groups to support children in getting education.
They added that they would consider what support they could give youngsters who were not getting a "suitable education" and if they were not, weigh up legal actions including penalty notices and prosecutions over attendance.
Across England, nearly a third (429,334) of SEND children were persistently absent from their education in 2024-25, compared to 15% (911,103) of children without special educational needs who were persistently absent from their education.
Persistently absent means children missing at least 10% of their education.
Not only are more children with SEND persistently absent from their education in England compared to students without SEND, the gap has also widened.
The numbers for persistently absent SEND youngsters rose from 19% in 2018-19 to 33% during Covid in 2021-22 and the figures have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. . . .
The government announced major reforms earlier this year to the SEND system in England, including bringing in inclusion bases - dedicated spaces for SEND pupils in all schools.
Billions are planned to be spent on making mainstream schools more inclusive, including £1.6bn [$2B] over three years going directly to schools, early years settings and colleges.
Over the same period, £1.8bn [$2.4B] would also be spent providing more access to experts like specialist teachers and speech and language therapists, ministers said.
Carrie Garrington (left), Kim Lewis (middle) and Lindsey Barrington all have children who are autistic and have been absent from their education at times
Lindsey Barrington, from Darlaston in the West Midlands, has three children and two of them were diagnosed as autistic.
Two of her trio have struggled in mainstream education and were absent from school at times. . . .
At Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury, a quarter of their 1,100 pupils have SEND and are taught alongside children who are neurotypical.
Principal Louisa Simcock believes being inclusive, as the government plans, can work with the right support in place. . . .
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