(UK) Norfolk: Shoe protest shows need for SPED change
- The end of childhood
- 27 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Nov 2, 2025, Norfolk families stand in solidarity for children failed by SEND system
Norfolk families are standing together in solidarity today to highlight the number of children being failed by the SEND system.
The local event in Norfolk is part of the national "Every Pair Tells a Story" action, showing that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities deserve education, support, and a future.
Participants have been asked to bring along a pair of shoes to represent their child with the aim that together they want to highlight the scale of the crisis.
After fighting for her daughter Nina to received the support she needed, Norfolk mum Carla decided to set up a charity to help other parents:
"It can be quite lonely for all of us parents to fight the fight with no one next to us and unless you're a parent of a child with special needs you can't fully understand the dimension of the fighting you have to do."
"I am very lucky that she has a school to go to but why should we put children with special needs all in a school and not have them be part of our society."
The SEND Sanctuary UK who are behind today's action is a parent-led movement built from lived experience.
They bring together families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to connect, share and be heard.
They believe no family should ever feel alone, unheard or unsupported and they are working to change the conversation around SEND through connection, awareness and action.
The movement today is a silent, fully inclusive event with no walking and no protesting.
Cllr Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for Norfolk County Council Children’s Services, said:
“The shoes laid out in Norfolk and at locations across the country show that families feel the SEND system isn’t working and want change.
“We agree that Government SEND Reform is urgently needed. Here in Norfolk, we’re investing in a wide-ranging programme to strengthen support and early help in mainstream schools to make sure every child can flourish in their education. We’re increasing the number of places in specialist provision and just over a year ago we set up a support line for parents and professionals to make it easier for them to speak to us when they need advice and guidance.”
The event is at Norfolk County Hall from 10.30 am today (31/10) you can find further details here.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“This government inherited a SEND system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to secure the right support. We’re determined to put that right and deliver a better system that supports children and families at every stage.
“We have already carried out over 100 listening sessions with families, and Minister Gould will be leading the engagement with more parents to make sure we deliver better outcomes for every child through the Schools White Paper as part of our Plan for Change.
“Through that engagement we have already made progress on our plans to build a truly inclusive system – including through improved training for teachers, £740 million to create more specialist places, earlier intervention for speech and language needs and embedding SEND leads in our Best Start Family Hubs in every local area.”
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