(UK) Special needs parents "significantly" dissatisfied with school support

Mar 26, 2026, Independent: Parents think lack of SEND support is top issue affecting schools, survey finds - AOL

Parents of children with special education needs (SEND) are significantly less satisfied with the support their child receives at school than other parents, a new report has found.

In the biggest representative survey of its kind, parents of children with SEND who had no protection through the education, health and care plan (ECHP) were the least satisfied group.

The Parent Voice Project’s report, How Schools Work for Every Child, 41 per cent of parents of children with SEND identify lack of SEND provision as a top issue affecting school children in the UK.

Half of all parents said it was important for children with SEND to be educated in mainstream schools, but only half of the surveyed parents (52 per cent) thought teachers had the right tools to deal with SEND. However this figure dropped to 38 per cent among parents of children with SEND but no EHCP.

In focus groups conducted by the project, parents of children with SEND described a gap between reassurance from school and the reality of what they and their child experience.

The report said: “Many spoke about being promised support, only to experience delays, staff turnover, or shifting responsibility. This issue was rarely framed as ill will on the part of schools, but rather as inconsistency and lack of follow-through – particularly where an EHCP was absent.”

A mother from Oldham with a child aged 14 with SEND said: “I got told everything I wanted to hear: we’re going to do X, Y and Z. We’re going to try and support you. And when they did nothing, you chase again. That teacher’s left, and it’s gone to another one.”

The survey said the findings show that “formal recognition shapes parental confidence”, as 61 per cent of parents with SEND and an EHCP believe teachers are well equipped.

The findings reflect that parents of children with SEND and an EHCP show no statistically significant difference in satisfaction compared with parents of children without SEND. This suggests that parents have more positive experiences with the schools when an EHCP is present.