In a break from the usual work-related wellbeing posts, I wanted to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to respond to a couple of pieces of writing that have sparked a reaction in my nearest and dearest. I decided to take some time to ensure that I would respond instead of react and I have attempted to write this from a compassionate point of view.
I’m referring to Emma Duncan’s article for The Times on the 24th October 2024 – ‘Special needs bills are bankrupting councils‘, and her earlier essay from 28th July 2023 – ‘Social care: the time bomb no political party wants to touch’ which both comment on the failings of both SEND and social care, highlighting deeply interwoven challenges facing families across the UK.
As a parent of four children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), I can’t help but see parallels between my own experiences in the SEND system and those of individuals struggling to navigate social care for elderly loved ones. Both groups face overwhelming obstacles, financial strain, and an exhausting fight to secure the necessary support, often to no avail.
In Special needs bills are bankrupting councils, Duncan paints a bleak picture of SEND support, suggesting that councils are being financially crippled by the increase in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The implication is that families are placing undue strain on councils by seeking these plans, potentially because SEND has become “an identity rather than a stigma.”
From my experience, however, obtaining an EHCP is a battle most parents don’t enter lightly. For my family, it was a necessity driven by the reality that without such plans, children like mine are left without adequate educational support, often out of school entirely. My eldest son was out of education for nearly the whole of year 8, my second son placed in an overly harsh school environment that ‘met his needs’ by punishing symptoms in a borstal-like setting, and my youngest daughter is currently unable to attend school due to a combination of lack of provision and PTSD from an appalling incident with another student.
Similarly, in her article Social care: the time bomb no political party wants to touch, Duncan highlights the failures in social care and the undue burden it places on family carers. Just as SEND parents often face years of exhausting battles to secure even the most basic educational support, carers of elderly loved ones are frequently left unsupported, navigating a fragmented, bureaucratic system with little guidance or relief. Duncan’s experiences with her mother-in-law’s care echo the strain that parents like myself face: trying to navigate a system that’s constantly shifting, under-resourced, and often feels as though it’s designed to discourage requests for help.
Duncan’s frustration with the social care system captures a vital point about support for vulnerable populations: it’s often only as robust as the financial and bureaucratic structures underpinning it. When that system fails, it isn’t only the councils or caregivers who suffer – it’s the individuals in need of care, be they SEND children or elderly adults, who are most profoundly affected.
Both the SEND and social care sectors demonstrate the urgent need for a sustainable, humane approach to support services. In both cases, the root problem isn’t the people requiring support; it’s a system that forces families to fight for every inch, and one that pits financial strain against individual wellbeing. Just as Duncan rightly notes the “unbearable burden” placed on carers of the elderly, so too is an unbearable burden placed on SEND families – many of whom are simply trying to secure a basic education for their children, one that meets their needs and offers a fair chance for a future.
We can’t afford to dismiss these challenges or view them as isolated incidents. The same systemic issues that make social care unmanageable also undermine SEND support. As long as resources and frameworks for support are inadequate, families like mine, as well as carers for the elderly, will continue to bear the costs—financial, emotional, mental and personal.
Addressing these issues demands more than quick fixes or limited budget increases. It requires a rethinking of how we value and support our most vulnerable individuals, whether they’re children with SEND or elderly people requiring social care. Perhaps Duncan is right, it is time we look towards countries like Germany and Japan, and explore sustainable models that don’t leave families fighting an uphill battle. In both SEND and social care, we need systems that are accessible, well-funded, and built on the principle that every person deserves respect, dignity, and the support necessary to live a meaningful life.
A last thought, Emma, as Jarvis Cocker once sang “Help the aged, ‘Cause one day you’ll be older too. You might need someone who can pull you through” – it might very well be my kids who are the Doctor, the Carer, the research scientist, the whoever, that has been able to help you when you really need it because of an EHCP SEND provision when they really needed it.
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