I can’t help but feel cynical about the £1billion SEND spend

Rachel Reeves appears outside of Downing Street (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty)

I had to rewind BBC iPlayer four times to check I’d heard Chancellor Rachel Reeves correctly. 

And yes, I had. 

Reeves said in her Budget speech: ‘This government is committed to reforming special educational needs provision to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and to ensure the system is financially sustainable. Today I am providing a £1billion uplift in funding, a 6% real term increase on this year.’ 

One billion. Wow. That’s a lot of cash. And for parents like me, it meant more than most of the other tax and spend announcements that were in the Chancellor’s speech. 

I immediately thought of my daughter Elvi, who is now 23 and about to leave the ‘SEND’ system for good. 

These changes will be too late for her to feel the benefit, but frankly if they stop families having to fight the bitter battles we have had over provision for Elvi, then I welcome them. 

I still have plenty of questions (Picture: Sam Carlisle)

There’s a reason I struggled to believe the Chancellor’s announcement at first – because in my experience, good news for SEND parents is hard to come by. 

We have spent two decades navigating a path laden with bear traps for parents and failings for children. 

So the mere mention of SEND – even before the billion-pound announcement –  in the budget statement made me feel emotional. 

Of course, the devil is in the detail, so it wasn’t long before the part of my brain that has been wired over time to be cynical about any Government announcements to do with disabled children kicked in. 

I still have plenty of questions I’m sure will be shared by other SEND parents. 

Where will this money go? Who will decide how it is spent? Will a 6% increase on what the Conservatives spent last year be enough? Will it just be used to pay off debts councils have racked up? 

And perhaps crucially, can Reeves work in tandem with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to ensure that joined-up thinking becomes the norm, rather than the exception, when it comes to the government’s approach to SEND provision?

Elvi’s life since she was diagnosed with a rare life-limiting disorder at the age of two has been dictated not by her needs or the complexities of her care, but by which local authority or health board has which pot of money. 

One word seemed to dominate every discussion on Elvi’s education – no. 

Can she have a walking frame to increase her mobility? No. Can she move to a different school now that her sight is failing and she needs specialists in visual impairment? No. 

Given she’s a wheelchair user and has severe learning disabilities, does Elvi qualify to be looked after by the local authorities disabilities team? No. Does she qualify for continuing health care? 

No, unless you put her on anti-psychotic medication that she doesn’t actually need, then we might consider it. 

Just last month we were told that when Elvi leaves school she will no longer be funded for one-to-one care. 

That, I argued back, would be like leaving a toddler on the M25 and expecting them to cope. 

We know Elvi better than anyone, so rather than just accept these decisions, we have had to fight at every turn. 

Over the years the time and energy I’ve had to invest has cost me my job, my relationships and occasionally my sanity. 

And I’m far from alone. Any parent with a disabled or neurodivergent child will recognise the pattern.  

I was even told recently by a council official that parents’ requests for aspects of care are usually turned down two or three times in the hope they will go away. 

She said that out loud. 

So it will take more than £1billion to convince me that the broken system is finally being put back together – it remains a source of distress to me that many parents won’t have the time or resources to go into battle. 

But there was lots to like about Rachel Reeves’ statement, and often it was not just about what she said, but how she said it. 

The best thing about the Budget is that the Chancellor accepted that the system is broken and gave equal value to our children and their non-disabled peers. 

She also acknowledged parent carers, with a small increase to the hours parents can work to qualify for Carers Allowance – a massive £81.90 a week. 

The Chancellor also included more funding for local authorities, health and social care, which is vital because disabled and neurodivergent children don’t exist just at school. 

The best thing about the budget is that the Chancellor accepted that the system is broken (Picture: EPA/ANDY RAIN)

The big question of course, is whether this funding will be sufficient. It’s a small down payment on fixing a broken system, and it must be spent in the right places. 

Essential to all of this is to change a culture that has become embedded. Let’s ditch the pernicious idea that disabled people like my daughter are a financial drain on society to be bounced between bureaucratic departments where the computer always says ‘no’. 

We have to nurture and support our children so that they have every chance of leading meaningful adult lives.

Today is a start, but there’s a significant way to go and rebuilding trust has to be a key priority for this still-young government. 

Elvi might not see a penny of this £1billion, but if this Budget leads to help for families like mine, then the first step in this long rebuilding road has been taken. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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