First, thank you. We have hit several signature milestones, and the petition has now surpassed 3,400 direct views. It is incredible to see that local people are still actively finding, signing, and sharing this campaign every single day. The momentum is not slowing down, and the pressure is working.

Behind the scenes, the rabbit hole goes much deeper than we originally thought. Here is exactly where we stand today.

1. The Department for Education Steps In

I am pleased to report that the Department for Education’s (DfE) Vulnerable Children's Unit has officially stepped in regarding my whistleblowing complaint. I have granted them formal consent to directly contact Derby City Council to demand answers and investigate their systemic SEND failures.

To be clear on what this means: I have requested statutory intervention under Sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996. These are the ultimate safeguard powers. They grant the Secretary of State the authority to directly intervene, issue binding legal directions, and effectively overrule or take over from a Local Authority if they are found to be acting "unreasonably" or failing in their statutory duties to disabled children.

The DfE is now formally engaging with the Council.

2. New Evidence: A Top-Down Strategy of Coercion

While preparing for legal action, I have used Subject Access Requests and Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to uncover new, deeply disturbing internal documents. This isn't the work of rogue case officers; this is a coordinated, top-down strategy orchestrated by senior management.

• A "Shadow" Austerity Programme: We recently discovered that Derby City Council isn’t even officially enrolled in the government’s "Delivering Better Value" (DBV) deficit-reduction programme. Instead, they actively chose to build a "shadow" version of it. They are implementing draconian cost-cutting mechanisms entirely on their own, without any of the formal DfE oversight that accompanies the official programme. They didn't have to do this to our children; they chose to.
• A Policy with No Governance: The Council’s external lawyers have now been forced to admit in writing that this multi-million-pound funding Matrix was implemented by an informal "working group". There are zero executive Cabinet sign-offs and zero formal governance minutes detailing its creation or approval.
• No Equality Impact Assessment: The Council has also formally admitted via FOI that they hold absolutely no Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) for this city-wide algorithm. They rolled out a policy that dictates the welfare of thousands of disabled children without conducting the mandatory legal checks to see if it unlawfully discriminates against them.
• Coercing School Leaders: Most shockingly, I now possess internal school meeting minutes proving active statutory interference by the highest levels of SEND Management. When a local school submitted a formal consultation stating a child needed over £20,000 in funding to be safe, the Council’s Head of Service convened an urgent, closed-door meeting. The minutes explicitly record the Head of Service telling the school they would not provide that amount, and actively "urging" the school to "re-do" their statutory paperwork to fit the Council's cheaper budget constraint.

They are not assessing children’s needs; senior leadership is dictating a budget ceiling and pressuring headteachers to doctor the paperwork to make it fit.

3. Next Steps: Preparing for the High Court

Derby City Council’s external lawyers are trying to defend the indefensible, but we will not be deterred. We are currently preparing to escalate this fight to the High Court for a Judicial Review, to have this unlawful 'shadow' matrix struck down for good.

This is no longer just about one child; this is about dismantling a corrupt system that is harming thousands of families across our city. To defeat this policy once and for all, we must stand together.

Very soon, I plan to launch a CrowdJustice campaign to fund this public interest litigation. This will be our chance to pool our resources, take the fight directly to them, and hold the Council legally accountable at the highest possible level.

Please keep sharing, keep commenting, and keep the pressure on. They miscalculated when they thought we would just give up.

We are stronger together.

Samuel Melrose