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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nEastEnders <\/em>star Kellie Bright has revealed the significant challenges she faced securing appropriate education for her son, who has autism, dyslexia, and ADHD.<\/p>\nHer personal experience forms part of a new Panorama documentary, where she meets other families navigating similar difficulties within England’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. <\/p>\n
Bright shared her story in an article for the BBC ahead of the programme’s broadcast, describing the process as a “battle”.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took months of perseverance and hard work from my husband and I to try to get the right education for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times, it felt like a battle,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Bright, who plays Linda Carter, said she and her husband spent hours filling in forms to request an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a legally binding document which outlines the support a child with Send needs.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Kellie Bright presents a BBC Panorama documentary about Send families and education (PA Archive)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIn the BBC documentary, Bright spoke to 15-year-old Buddy, who is autistic, and his mum Tunde.<\/p>\n
Tunde told Bright she applied for at least 11 schools after moving to London in October 2024, but found either they did not get back to her, were full, or could not give Buddy extra support without an EHCP.<\/p>\n
Buddy\u2019s first application for an EHCP was turned down before he was assessed, Bright wrote.<\/p>\n
His mum had to apply a second time to get him support, while the council arranged for him to have 19 hours of lessons in a library.<\/p>\n
Tunde told Bright the process of applying for an EHCP had been so time consuming she had to stop her work as a midwife and a health visitor for a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t do the parenting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t get him to these appointments, and work at the same time\u2026 I couldn\u2019t get my son seen in the right amount of time and see other people\u2019s babies in the right amount time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was a toss up \u2013 and my son won,\u201d Tunde said.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Kellie with parents Lee and Vicky, who are interviewed in the documentary (BBC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAs of September, Buddy is getting an EHCP, but is still being taught in the library rather than in school.<\/p>\n
The council agreed he could go to an independent school working with children struggling in mainstream schools, but Tunde is not sure the school will be able to deliver what she thinks Buddy needs to improve his confidence with other children.<\/p>\n
Southwark Council said it takes Tunde\u2019s concerns very seriously and it will continue to support her family to ensure they receive the provision they need without further delay.<\/p>\n
As part of the documentary, Bright also spoke to Jacqui Russell, Conservative councillor and cabinet member for children, young people and learning at West Sussex County Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current system is actually very adversarial.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur parents are increasingly tired and anxious and fed up of fighting\u2026 Staff sickness levels are really, really high at the moment,\u201d Russell told Bright.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current system doesn\u2019t work. It is broken. It\u2019s not delivering the best outcomes for children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councils across the country have been facing spiralling high needs deficits as demand for EHCPs has grown.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Kellie Bright plays Linda Carter in the long-running soap (PA Media)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe latest Department for Education (DfE) figures show there were 638,745 EHCPs as of January this year, compared with 353,995 in 2019.<\/p>\n
Local authorities have a statutory obligation to deliver the support set out in plans, so the huge increase has meant councils were looking at combined high needs deficits of an estimated at least \u00a33.3 billion by 2024.<\/p>\n
The government will set out how it will reform the Send system in the Schools White Paper later this year.<\/p>\n
There have been concerns that EHCPs may be cut under the government reforms, however, education minister Georgia Gould has previously said there \u201cwill always be a legal right to additional support\u201d for young people with Send.<\/p>\n
Gould told Bright the reforms will not take support away from families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re wanting to put more support in earlier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere people have fought for support, and that\u2019s in place, we want to make sure that that support continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, and thousands of other parents of Send children, applying for an EHCP feels like a battle about your child\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho does not want the best possible education for their son or daughter?\u201d wrote Bright.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for every parent fighting, there is a council counting the cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll eyes are now on the government to see if its reforms can relieve the pressure on so many families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Panorama: Kellie Bright \u2013 Autism, School And Families On The Edge is on BBC One at 8pm on Monday October 6 and on BBC iPlayer now.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more EastEnders star Kellie Bright has revealed the significant challenges she faced securing appropriate education for her son, who has autism, dyslexia, and ADHD. Her personal experience forms part of a new Panorama documentary, where she meets other families navigating similar difficulties within England’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. Bright shared her story in an article for the BBC ahead of the programme’s broadcast, describing the process as a “battle”. \u201cIt took months of perseverance and hard work from my husband and I to try to get the right education for him. \u201cAt times, it felt like a battle,\u201d she wrote. Bright, who plays Linda Carter, said she and her husband spent hours filling in forms to request an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a legally binding document which outlines the support a child with Send needs. open image in gallery Kellie Bright presents a BBC Panorama documentary about Send families and education (PA Archive) In the BBC documentary, B…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}