A POWERFUL protest took place in Coventry to highlight a ‘crisis’ in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schooling.
Families gathered outside Council House, the HQ of Coventry City Council, on Monday (November 3) to take part in the national Every Pair Tells a Story movement.
They displayed pairs of children’s shoes to symbolise every child who they say has been failed by the education system and the local authority.
Volunteers from the Coventry hub of SEND Sanctuary UK, the national group which organised the protest, say the city faces growing challenges to provide the support needed by children and young people with SEND.
A spokesperson for the Coventry hub said: “Every pair of shoes tells a story of exhaustion, heartbreak and families forced to fight for the very basics that every child deserves: education, inclusion and respect.”
The number of children and young people in Coventry with an Education, Health, and Care Plan has risen by over 45 per cent to more than 4,000 since 2019.
The volunteers say families have reported waiting 25 to 30 weeks for EHCP decisions – far beyond the legal 20-week limit.
The spokesperson added: “This movement is not only for children missing from education. It stands for every child whose needs have been ignored, misunderstood or dismissed.
“It is for those isolated in classrooms without the right support, pushed into unsuitable mainstream schools, or waiting months and years for EHCPs that are delayed, denied or disregarded.
“Local parents continue to raise concerns about the shortage of specialist school places, leaving children in unsuitable settings or without education altogether.”
The campaign follows The Fight for Ordinary, a large-scale rally held in London earlier this year, organised by The SEND Sanctuary UK in partnership with the Disabled Children’s Partnership.
SEND Sanctuary UK founder Aimee Bradley said: “These shoes tell the stories of children who want to learn, play and be included.
“No child should be left behind because the system decided their needs were too complex or too inconvenient. This is about every child failed by broken promises and endless red tape.”
Campaigners are calling for urgent action and accountability from both local authorities and central government to address the 600,000 children in England identified as having SEND – over 70,000 of whom are waiting for EHCPs to be processed.
Aimee added: “The government must listen to parents. We are not the problem. We are the evidence of the problem. Our children deserve more than words. They deserve real change, and they deserve it now.”
Coun Dr Kindy Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Coventry City Council, said: “Coventry City Council and its partners continue to do all we can to ensure that the additional needs of our children are met at the earliest opportunity, despite the challenges within the system, which are nationally recognised.
“We look forward to the Government’s White Paper which is scheduled to be published in spring 2026. It is anticipated that this will provide the much-needed reform that both families and local authorities are waiting for.”
