大象传媒

Over the past few months on Woman鈥檚 Hour we鈥檝e been looking at support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

This week, actor Anna Maxwell Martin shared her family鈥檚 experiences navigating the SEND system. Anna has two daughters with SEND and has struggled to get support to meet their needs.

Speaking about the introduction of fines for parents of children missing school, the Motherland and Line of Duty star told Nuala McGovern that she feels the system doesn鈥檛 support children or their families and that it鈥檚 a 鈥榗atastrophe鈥�.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 鈥淓very child and young person deserves the best life chances and the opportunity to achieve and thrive鈥� The reform families are crying out for will take time, but with a greater focus on mainstream provision and more early intervention, we will deliver the change that is so desperately needed.鈥�

The Education Hub on the government鈥檚 website says: 鈥楩ines are a last resort, and parents will be offered support to help improve their child鈥檚 attendance first.

鈥淚f your child is facing barriers to school attendance due to special education needs or disabilities (SEND), schools, local authorities and wider services are required to work together to provide the right support in the first place.鈥�

For more information and support on this topic, head to the 大象传媒 Action Line website.

You can listen to the full interview on 大象传媒 Sounds - it鈥檚 the Woman鈥檚 Hour episode from 28th October.

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