Spotlight on SEND: Newcastle mum labels system 'broken' after two-year fight to get son school place

Katie Cole went to speak to a Newcastle mum about her experience in trying to get a place for her son at the right specialist school.

The mother of an autistic boy has described the near two-year struggle to find her son a place in the right specialist school as a "full-time job".

Ally Hunter-Byron, from Newcastle, told ITV News Tyne Tees she had been fighting for 20 months to secure six-year-old son Sidney a spot in an education setting that could meet his needs.

She labelled the system for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as "broken", "not fit for purpose" and said it was "failing children".

It comes as a poll for ITV News Regions and Nations, carried out by Opinium, revealed that 60% of parents in the Tyne Tees area had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met - while 35% of parents said they turned to the legal system to get the provision their child needed.

Diagnosed aged four, Sidney is autistic, non-verbal and sensory seeking. He was held back for a year in Reception in a mainstream setting in Heaton and has missed weeks of school.

Ally said it was through sheer determination and hard work that she had finally secured Sidney a place in a suitable school, where he will begin in September.

"I was under no illusion it was going to be an easy process but I think the length of time has been absolutely ridiculous," she said.

"There's a lack of SEND provision for children like Sidney and they're being forced to remain in mainstream and that's not alright."

She continued: "I didn't take no for an answer cause he's my child and I was willing to fight and do whatever was needed to get him where he needed to go."

Ally secured an Education, Health and Care plan (ECHP) for Sidney about 20 months ago.

But after searching for schools, and looking at six, the family were told there were no places for Sidney. This left the family with no choice but to leave him in mainstream school.

"Sydney was frustrated and we were seeing a lot more kind of meltdowns," continued Ally. "Sydney's a sensory seeker. He loves to jump, climb, spin and I think they just allowed him to do that as much as they can

"But in a class of 30 he’s just one child and that’s quite a lot to manage. I think in these last few months Sydney was very disregulated.

"He was running up and down. There was lots more kind of crying which was just sad."

In November, Ally decided to take legal action and went to Newcastle City Council to appeal. In February they were given a tribunal date - for February 2025.

Undeterred, the working mum set out to rewrite Sidney's ECHP.

"It became like a full time job," she said. "Sidney's admin was beyond comparable really in terms of people you have to speak to constantly, chasing people for reports, rewriting people's reports and just pushing."

The plan was changed and, finally, a few weeks ago the local authority conceded and offered Sidney a place at his first choice, Hadrian School, in Newcastle.

Ally said: "I think it's going to be life-changing for him and I think it's just going to open up his world, his support network, and allow him to thrive not just survive."

Spotlight on SEND numbers in the Tyne Tees region

• 937 - the number of children awaiting assessment for additional support in school (as of May 2024)

• 413 - number of children waiting for a place in school (as of May 2024)

• 46% - the rise in the number of appeals between the years 2021-2023 (up from 214 to 313)

• 215% - the rise in the number of tribunals from the years 2021-2023 (up from 46 to 145)

• 5% the number of tribunal cases councils won or partially won of those

• £270,339 - the money spent on costs associated with tribunals across 2021-2023 by councils who responded to our freedom of information request (FOI)

Figures from FOIs obtained by ITV News.

Despite a brighter future on the horizon for Sidney, Ally told ITV News Tyne Tees that she feared for other families lost in the system and who are unable to advocate for themselves.

The number of parents of SEND children taking legal action is rising In the Tyne Tees region. The number of tribunals rose by 215% between 2021 and 2023.

This can be costly to both parties in a system where 95% of cases rule in favour of parents.

Ally is joining other parents in calls for an overhaul of the SEND system.

She continued: "Why are we spending public money? Why are we then putting families through this?

"Why are we not putting children in the schools they deserve? Why are we making them go through all this trauma? It's just not fair."

What do parents say?

In an exclusive poll of parents of children with special educational needs by ITV News Regions and Nations:

• 25% of parents said they would rate the service they get as poor, while 40% said it was good

• 26% said they didn’t feel that their child gets everything they’re entitled to in their EHC, while 57% said they did get everything

• 60% said their child had had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met

• 37% of those above said their child had been out of school for between a month and a year

• 35% of parents said they had used the legal system to get the SEND provision their child needed

• 25% of those parents said they had to spend between £5,000 and £50,000 on legal costs.

• 39% of parents who went down the legal route had to fund these costs by using their savings, while 34% said they had to borrow from banks, and/or credit unions or online lenders to pay for it

• 27% of parents said they had seen a negative impact on their mental health as a result of inappropriate provision

• 27% of parents said they had seen a negative impact on their child or young person’s mental health as a result of inappropriate SEND provision.

A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said it is, along with other local authorities, seeing an increased identified need for local SEND services "with a lack of additional funding to support those needs".

They said: "There are greater numbers of children and young people who need specialist care and support, and we are seeing greater numbers of pupils with very complex needs.

“Newcastle City Council is committed to supporting all children and young people to achieve their potential and have the best start in life.

"There has been significant work undertaken to improve the city’s SEND provision, outlined in our SEND Strategy.

"Our strong partnership working has also helped to increase the level of educational psychology support, expand the capacity of our specialist schools, strengthen support in mainstream schools, improve the diagnosis pathways with health, and allowed for the opening of a new SEND Early Years Centre.”

Newcastle City Council has also recently held a public consultation about the opening of a new specialist school in the city.

Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, and Labour's MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, said SEND is one of the new government's top priorities.

She said: "I think parents recognise it just isn't working at the moment and I want to make sure that everything that we're doing is focused on making sure children get that great start in life, but also a push around what more we can do within our mainstream schools to make sure they can cater for children with with a range of additional needs.

"I think training and support for staff will be a crucial part of that, because I hear time and again that they haven't felt supported in making sure they can deliver really high quality teaching and support for children who do have additional needs."

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