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Kids Manifesto for Change

We have identified five clear areas where Government action is needed in order to transform the lives of disabled children and young people.

How disabled children and young people can meet their potential

Kids has over 50 years on the ground experience working alongside disabled children, young people and their families, providing support, advice and information from birth to 25, whatever their disability.

Our ambition is for every disabled child or young person to meet their own potential. We believe that the right support and a range of opportunities need to be in place to ensure that every individual can thrive.

This means that learning, play and social opportunities are available from the early years through to adulthood, supporting disabled children and young people’s development and wellbeing. It means families aren’t having to fight to get the help their children need and it means the views of disabled children and young people are at the heart of all decisions made about them – at individual, service and policy levels.

To make this a reality and transform the lives of disabled children and young people, we have identified five clear areas of action where Government action is needed.

1. Getting it right in the early years

It is vital that babies and young children with SEND have access to quality early years support. Our experience shows when you get this right it can be life-changing. All too often children with SEND are not able to access the right early years provision. Alarmingly only 6% of Local Authorities in England have enough childcare places for disabled children.

The Government must ensure that the childcare expansion doesn’t further exclude children with SEND from early years settings.

2. Navigating a complex system

The complex health, care and education system makes it challenging for parents to get the right help for their child.

Kids has pioneered the SEND Community Navigator model to provide a single point of contact for rounded support and guidance to ease the burden on families. Our Navigators support parents with crucial aspects of parenting, from establishing routines to nurturing emotional wellbeing.

We recommend that the Government provides a Navigator to every family with a disabled child.

3. Making community provision and care and support work

It’s vital children with SEND can attend after-school clubs and holiday clubs, and participate in local activities or other hobbies. This helps them to make friends, supports their development by exposing them to new experiences, and promotes wellbeing. It can also help support them to access and stay in formal education.

Local authorities and local providers must ensure that activities are inclusive. Every child with SEND should be able to access activities in the community in the same way as other children.

4. Getting the right help into adulthood

The existing challenges faced by young people with SEND are further exacerbated by a profoundly inadequate system of transition support in England. It’s too hard to find information about options for the future, leaves young people waiting without the vital support they need, and too often fails to meaningfully include them in society.

The Government must step up and demonstrate action on a national level to fix the disjointed transition support system.

5. Let us shape the decisions that affect us

Children and young people with SEND need to be at the heart of decisions made about them, whether that’s at an individual level, service level or strategic/policy level. They are the ones that understand their needs the best and they have the right to shape the decisions that affect them.

Every local authority needs to ensure that participation of young disabled people in local decisions that affect them becomes routine.

Our policy news

Nursery staff playing with disabled child
CEO blog post
8 Jul 2024

Reflections on the new government and the broken SEND system

Kids Chief Executive Katie Ghose's thoughts on long-term opportunities and immediate fixes

A young person is looking out a cabin playhouse, one hand on his chin
News
2 May 2024

Kids releases revealing report: On the Cliff Edge

Our report documents the experience of young people with SEND as they move from childhood into adulthood.

A boy is kneeling in front of a sensory play tray. There is a woman next to him
Early years
19 Mar 2024

Only 6% of local authorities offer enough SEND childcare  

Coram Family and Childcare released the Childcare Survey 2024 results. Read our response.

A boy is playing with toys on an activity wall
Early years
6 Mar 2024

Our response to the Spring Budget – 2024

Once again over 1 in 10 of the UK’s children have gone unseen and unheard. Read our response to the Spring Budget.

A girl holding a pen and paper in her arms
News
8 Feb 2024

Our response to the Disability Action Plan

The Government has released its long-awaited Disability Action Plan. Read our response.

Policy
18 Oct 2023

Kids’ response to the Disability Action Plan consultation 2023-2024

Read our response to the Disability Action Plan. It's all about accessible playgrounds, assistive technology and digital inclusion.

A staff member and child are standing outside with their arms up in the air and water drops falling on them
Policy
11 Oct 2023

Kids Manifesto for Change

Find out where Government action is needed to transform the lives of disabled children and young people.

Photo of a boy's profile. His head is turned slightly to face the camera.
Early years
20 Jul 2023

Our vision for early years and SEND

We believe it’s vital that babies and young children with SEND have access to quality early years support. Read more.

A child is smiling at the camera. He has short blond hair and is wearing a blue t-shirt with superhero faces on it.
Policy
2 Mar 2023

Our response to the SEND Improvement Plan

The Government's Plan does not begin to match up to the scale of the challenges. Read our full response.

A close-up of two people's hands working on a puzzle. There are puzzle pieces on the table.
Policy
17 Nov 2022

Autumn Statement comment from Kids Chief Executive, Katie Ghose

The Government’s decision to increase benefits in line with inflation will provide some relief to families of disabled children currently struggling to cover daily costs.

Policy
13 Oct 2022

‘Spend pennies now to save pounds later’

Kids CEO Katie Ghose shares three ways the charity sector can adapt to unprecedented economic changes.

A boy is sitting around a table with a staff member. He is playing with a flat object that is obscured by the light. The staff member is looking at him.
Policy
25 Jul 2022

Kids Responds to SEND Review

The current education and support system for children and young people with SEND does not work. The Government needs to build on the SEND reforms of 2014, but this time reforms should be resourced, implemented and enforced.

A staff member and young person are sitting together, drawing something on a piece of paper.
Policy
7 Apr 2022

SEND Review: learning from children, young people and their families

Chief Executive Katie Ghose reflects on the Government's SEND review, identifying three areas of interest for Kids.

A close-up of two people's hands working on a puzzle. There are puzzle pieces on the table.
Policy
19 Oct 2021

Spending Review – Opinion piece from Kids Chief Executive, Katie Ghose

Making people’s lives better ‘Making people’s lives better’ – is the firm commitment from the Chancellor, as the government reviews how they are going to spend the budget for the…

A professional photo of Katie Ghose, Kids CEO. She is wearing a dark blazer and eyeglasses.
Policy
24 Aug 2021

Locked Out – opinion piece from Kids Chief Executive Katie Ghose

Delivering services during the pandemic A stark feature of Covid lockdown measures was the extent to which for many of us living, working and socialising online became ‘the new normal’….

A staff member and a child are making a puzzle together.
Policy
24 Aug 2021

Locked Out: Digital Disadvantage of Disabled Children, Young People and Families during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Kids and the Disabled Children's Partnership launched ‘Locked Out’: Digital Disadvantage of Disabled Children, Young People and Families during the Covid-19 Pandemic report.