Shoe protest highlights 'failed' Send children

Two of the pairs of shoes left outside the council's building

Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) staged a protest by placing shoes outside a city council's offices.

Organisers of the event in Milton Keynes said each pair represented a child who had been failed by the school system.

It was part of a national demonstration organised by a parents' group called Send Sanctuary UK.

Milton Keynes City Council said it was investing in helping schools meet the needs of more children.

Shoes left outside Milton Keynes City Council symbolised children who, parents say, are failed by the school system

There were no sit-ins, chants or whistles at this protest - just a collection of shoes of all shapes, sizes and colours.

Paper tags adorned some, revealing the identity of the owner or hinting at the struggle a family had been through.

One tag, on a pair of blue clogs, revealed their owner was "a child who wants to go to school".

"He wants to make friends and play," it read.

Amanda has been treated for cancer while fighting for Send provision

Amanda added a pair of her nine-year-old son's shoes to the heart-shaped collection on the pavement.

She said: "He started in mainstream, but it took me two-and-a-half years to get him out of mainstream and it took me threatening tribunal for them to give him a place [at a special school]."

It is a battle she faced while being a single mother and being treated for cancer, and she said the problems did not end with the change of school.

"We didn't get to choose - the school is quite good, but it's not the school for him."

Tracey said she had thought her fight would be over once she got her son into a special school

The tag on a pair of black trainers revealed how a 12-year-old boy had waited over two years for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) setting out what support he needed.

His mother, Tracey, said there "still remains to this day a huge black hole for parents where there is no information - we have to literally go out and find it for ourselves".

After fighting for an EHCP and winning a four-year battle to get her son into a special school, Tracey said: "I continue to fight to get the additional needs met - it's all held back all the time.

"Something has to change otherwise there's going to be more and more young people failed by this system."

A spokesperson for Milton Keynes City Council said: "Like many local authorities, we're seeing increasing demand for EHCPs compounded by a national shortage of professionals working in supporting fields such as therapy services and educational psychology.

"We appreciate the pressure felt by families as we work through assessments and we're investing in helping schools meet the needs of more children and in creating additional specialist school places."