Kids submit response to SEND reform consultation

How Kids responded to the consultation

There were various ways of responding to the SEND reform proposals, with the main route being an online portal that asked 39 questions specifically on the details of the proposed changes. The Government also provided the option to respond via email or post, and we did both.

We completed the official consultation questions through the Department for Education (DfE) consultation portal and sent a more detailed written submission directly to the DfE. We also submitted a report bringing together the views, experiences and feedback shared by young people with SEND.

Submission grounded in lived experience

Our written submissions reflect the voices, experiences and expertise of the children, young people and families we support every day across our services. They were shaped not only by policy, research and evidence but by the realities faced by families navigating the SEND system and by frontline staff working alongside them.

Throughout the consultation period, our policy team worked closely with colleagues across the organisation to develop evidence-based recommendations. Regular discussions were held to ensure our response was rooted in lived experience and informed by how the system works in practice.

This collaborative approach meant that our response was built on the direct insights of staff supporting children and young people with SEND and hearing first-hand from young people with SEND and families about what is and is not working within the current system.

Direct engagement with Government

Alongside our formal consultation submissions, Kids also engaged directly with DfE officials throughout the consultation period. Our policy, Youth Voice and services colleagues attended official DfE and Council for Disabled Children engagement events and workshops, where we shared our positions and frontline experiences directly with DfE officials working on the reforms.

Katie, our CEO, also attended a number of meetings with the Minister and senior DfE civil servants, both in her role as Kids CEO and as Vice Chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, helping to ensure that the experiences of disabled children and young people, and their families remained central to discussions around reform.

Our Youth Voice team held 17 events online and in person with young people across the country, as well as running a survey to collect as many views and experiences form young people with SEND as possible. All of this then informed our young people’s submission to the Government. Thank you so much to all the young people who gave their time and views to ensure that the Government hear directly from young people with SEND.

We would like to thank every family, young person and staff member who contributed their time, experiences and ideas to help shape our response. Your voices are vital in building a more inclusive and effective SEND system.