EastEnders Actress Kellie Bright Speaks Out on the Challenges of Raising a Send Son

For a long time, I've been eager to create a documentary focusing on Send.

You might recognize me from Linda Carter, but I am equally a mum to an autistic son who also has dyslexia and ADHD.

Required months of perseverance and effort from my husband and I to secure the right education for him. Sometimes, it felt like a struggle.

That is why I wanted to make this film, so I could meet other families going through the similar situation, and discuss with teachers, local authorities, and the government about how Send children are educated in the UK.

The Scope of Send in England

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 speech and language, have attention disorders, and physical disabilities, along with other needs.

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

An Education, Health and Care Plan is a vital legal document because it is legally binding, states where a child should attend, and outlines how much extra support they should get.

We devoted countless hours filling in the application forms to request an EHCP, and numerous parents describe the process extremely challenging.

A Mother and Son's Journey

Shortly after I encounter teenage the young man, he shows me his favourite stuffed animal, his comfort object.

Buddy's autistic, which means his mind processes and responds to the environment in a different way from many people's. He struggles with socializing his own age, managing his emotions, and nervousness. Buddy prefers to keep his toy nearby.

After moving to London from north of the border in last autumn, Buddy's mum, Tunde, started applying for educational placements. She says she tried at least 11 schools, but many of them failed to respond, and those that did indicated they were at capacity or could not give her son extra support without an EHCP.

By the beginning of the current year, over 638,000 EHCPs had been granted to students in the country, a significant increase on the year before and an substantial growth in six years.

The increase is partly because parents and schools have got better at identifying pupils 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 initial request was turned down before Buddy was assessed. Councils decline about a 25% of EHCP applications at the assessment stage, as per government data.

During their time in the Scottish system, the mother notes they did not have to request the equivalent of an Education, Health and Care Plan. His comprehensive school arranged assistance for his learning, but not for his well-being.

The Scottish system has a alternative approach for helping pupils with special needs; educational institutions aim to deliver more support without the need for parents to apply for the equivalent of an plan.

"It's chaotic," she says. "[Securing help] was straightforward, and it could be simple to repeat."

Although the teenager is unable to attend classes, the local authority is offering him with nearly 20 hours of tuition per week in the local library.

Tunde explains the process of applying for an plan has been so time consuming she had to pause her career as a birth attendant and community nurse for a period.

"I can't manage my duties. I can't get him to these sessions, and work at the same time… I couldn't get my son seen in the right amount of time and attend to patients' infants in the right amount time. It became a toss up - and my son won," she comments.

We catch up with the youth after a lengthy speech and language assessment.

"Exhausting… that's all I have for you," he remarks as he rests on a barrier, his toy held close.

Finding a Place for Buddy

It's September and as millions students start term, he is still be educated in the library. Two months after I first met him, he's getting an EHCP but his education is yet to be resolved.

The local council agreed to Tunde's request that he go to an private institution that specializes in pupils who have difficulties in mainstream schools.

Before Buddy can begin there, the institution has already taken over the sessions he gets in the library setting. But the parent's now not sure the school will be able to deliver what she believes her child needs to improve his social skills and self-assurance with peers his own age.

"We were all prepared for September… and he remains without a school place, he continues to receive individual lessons," she said.

"I think … preparing to be around other kids and then still only having solo with instructors has really knocked him back and caused him to not want to attend school."

The local authority says it takes Tunde's concerns with utmost importance and it will keep support her family 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.

The council adds it has invested in a dedicated support service, and currently guarantees children are assessed by expert educators at the initial phase, and it is open to reviewing the circumstances when families are worried about school placements.

Existing Framework is Broken

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

The huge rise in the quantity of Education, Health and Care Plans is placing councils under severe budgetary strain. It is estimated that UK local governments are set to accumulate a total accumulated special needs shortfall between £4.3bn and £4.9bn by March 2026.

The government says it has invested a significant sum to assist councils fund plans and further investment on new Send school places.

I traveled to West Sussex County Council to speak with one of few officials in public service willing to discuss on the record about special needs financing.

Jacquie Russell is a Conservative councillor and cabinet member for children, young people and learning.

"The current system is actually very adversarial. Families are more and more tired and worried and frustrated of fighting… Staff sickness levels are extremely elevated at the moment," she says.

"The current system is ineffective. It is broken. It fails to provide the optimal results for children."

The need for plans is now outstripping funding in West Sussex. In 2015, the council had about 3,400 children with an EHCP. Today there are over 10,000.

As a result the special needs budget gap has been growing annually, so that at the end of 2025 it reaches over £123m.

"These funds is really essentially intended for community resources. {That would have|