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For ages, I've been eager to produce a documentary focusing on Send.

You might recognize me from Linda Carter, but I'm also a mother to an neurodivergent son who also has dyslexic traits and ADHD.

It took months of determination and hard work from my husband and I to obtain the right schooling for him. At times, it felt like a battle.

This is the reason I decided to create this film, so I could connect with other parents going through the similar situation, and speak to educators, councils, and the ministry about how Send children are supported in the UK.

The Scope of Send in the UK

Currently, there are over 1.7 million children in England with Send. It is a broad category, encompassing autistic children and people who face challenges in communication, have ADHD, and physical disabilities, among other conditions.

Schools in England do offer assistance to these pupils, but if parents believe their son or daughter needs extra help, they can make an application to their local council for an Education, Health and Care Plan.

An EHCP is a crucial document because it is enforceable by law, specifies where a child should go to school, and details how much additional help they should get.

My husband and I devoted countless hours completing the forms to apply for an plan, and many families find the procedure very frustrating.

Buddy and Tunde

Shortly after I encounter teenage Buddy, he presents his favourite cuddly toy, his comfort object.

He is on the autism spectrum, which means his mind processes and responds to the environment in a unique manner from many people's. He faces difficulties in socializing his own age, understanding his emotions, and anxiety. Buddy likes to keep Reindeer Dog close to him.

Following their move to London from north of the border in October 2024, his mother, Tunde, began searching for schools. She explains she contacted at least 11 schools, but several failed to respond, and those that did said they were at capacity or were unable to give Buddy the necessary help without an EHCP.

By the beginning of this year, more than 638,000 plans had been granted to children and young people in the country, a significant increase on the previous year and an 80% increase in six years.

This rise is in part because parents and schools have got better at identifying children who have Send, particularly autism, as rather than there being an increase with Send.

This marks the second time the family have applied for an EHCP. Their first application was rejected before he was assessed. Local authorities reject about a quarter of EHCP applications at the evaluation phase, as per official figures.

When they lived in the Scottish system, Tunde says they were not required to apply for the comparable of an Education, Health and Care Plan. His secondary school arranged assistance for his academic needs, but not for his well-being.

The Scottish system has a different system for supporting children with Send; educational institutions strive to offer more support without the requirement for parents to apply for the similar of an plan.

"It's a madness," she says. "[Securing help] was so easily done, and it should be simple to repeat."

While the teenager is unable to attend classes, the council is providing him with nearly 20 hours of lessons per week in the local library.

The mother explains the procedure of applying for an plan has been so demanding she had to stop working as a midwife and community nurse for a period.

"I can't do the parenting. I can't get him to these appointments, and work at the same time… I couldn't secure appointments for my child in the appropriate timeframe and see other people's babies in the right amount time. It became a toss up - and my son prevailed," she says.

I reconnect with Buddy after a lengthy speech and language assessment.

"Exhausting… that's all I've got for you," he remarks as he rests on a barrier, Reindeer Dog tucked under his arm.

A School for the Teenager

As autumn begins and while millions children start term, Buddy is still be taught in the public library. 60 days after I first met him, he's receiving an Education, Health and Care Plan but his education is yet to be resolved.

The local council agreed to Tunde's request that he attend an independently run institution that works with pupils who struggle in mainstream schools.

Before he can begin there, the institution has already taken over the lessons he receives in the library. But Tunde's currently uncertain the school will be able to provide what she thinks her son needs to improve his interpersonal abilities and confidence with peers his own age.

"We were fully ready for September… and he remains not at school, he continues to receive one-to-one lessons," she stated.

"I think … getting ready to be with fellow students and then still only having one-to-one with adults has set him back and made him be reluctant to go to school."

The local authority states it takes Tunde's concerns very seriously and it will keep assist her household to make certain they obtain the support they require without further delay.

Officials note it knows how hard it can be for parents to manage the system, and how upsetting delays in obtaining help can be.

It says it has invested in a specialist information and advice team, and currently guarantees pupils are evaluated by expert educators at the earliest stage, and it is open to reassessing the situation when families are concerned about education placements.

The Current System is Failing

I am aware there is a different perspective to this story.

The huge rise in the quantity of Education, Health and Care Plans is putting local authorities under intense budgetary strain. It is estimated that English councils are set to accumulate a total accumulated Send deficit of £4.3bn and £4.9bn by March 2026.

Ministers states it has invested a significant sum to assist authorities pay for EHCPs and additional funds on special educational needs placements.

I went to a local authority to interview one of few people in public service willing to discuss on the record about Send funding.

The councillor is a elected representative and official for education and youth.

"The current system is in fact very adversarial. Our parents are more and more exhausted and worried and frustrated of fighting… Staff sickness levels are really, really high at the moment," she explains.

"This system is ineffective. It has failed. It's not delivering the best outcomes for students."

Demand for EHCPs is currently outstripping resources in the region. In a decade ago, the authority had about 3,400 pupils with an EHCP. Today there are more than 10,000.

Consequently the special needs budget gap has been increasing year-on-year, so that at the conclusion of the fiscal year it stands at over £123m.

"That [money] is really essentially intended for community resources. {That would have|