Shoe protest over special education provision

Single parent Ruth said she was struggling to get support for both her children who had special educational needs

Families have taken part in protests calling for better provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

On Monday, parents laid out pairs of children's shoes in Northampton and Wellingborough, to represent every child they said had been failed by the education system.

The Department for Education has said it is "determined" to fix the system, and had invested £740m in new specialist places, better teacher training and earlier support.

At the protest in Northampton, single parent Ruth said her two children had been out of school for two years because of their special educational needs.

"It's been really stressful, really time-consuming and difficult for me to navigate," she said.

The Every Pair Tells a Story demonstrations were organised by The Send Sanctuary UK for sites across Great Britain.

The campaign group says it wants to bring together families, calling for understanding, accountability and compassion across the education system.

The shoes left by parents represented children failed by the Send system, with tags detailing their own stories

Last month, the assistant director of education at West Northamptonshire Council said that, at the time of its Send service inspection in March 2024, about 1,000 children were waiting for education, health and care plan (EHCP) assessments.

The council said it had been receiving an average of 125 requests for EHCPs each month, with demand being managed through additional staff.

Data published for April to June 2025 showed just 2.2% of EHCPs were completed within the statutory 20-week timeframe.

As of June 2025, 4,708 children in west Northamptonshire had an EHCP - an increase of about 20% compared with the same period last year.

West Northamptonshire Council leader Mark Arnull said the authority was "swimming against the tide" due to high demand, limited funding and what he described as a "broken national Send system."

'Very difficult'

Steph Collier, from Abington, also joined the protest at the Guildhall in Northampton.

She wanted to highlight the challenges faced by her four-year-old son, who she said was non-verbal and had not yet received a formal diagnosis.

"We are nine weeks into his school journey and we're finding it very difficult with the school not able to meet his needs," said Ms Collier, who says her son has an EHCP.

"I thought this was a really good opportunity to come and speak with other Send parents."

The demonstrations come as the government delays long-awaited reforms to the Send system until next year.