My 6-year-old son, River, has been facing challenges since reception due to his Special Educational Needs. Despite my efforts over the last two and a half years, I have fought with every inch of my body to get him the help he needs and deserves.

River is a funny, caring, and energetic little boy with an amazing imagination. He loves art, drawing, and creating things. He lights up every room he walks into  but the education system has slowly been dimming that light by failing to meet his needs.

He is still awaiting autism and ADHD assessments, and during this long and painful wait, we have struggled to get him the right support. Instead of being helped, he has been suspended, secluded, and labelled a problem since the age of five.

The school put him on a reduced timetable, meaning he was attending for just 45 minutes a day. I was told that if I didn’t accept it, he could be permanently suspended. Even then, the school failed to provide any work for him to do at home, leaving it down to me and his dad to order and provide suitable work and equipment for him to do at home to stop him falling even further behind both academically and emotionally.

River is from an ethnic minority background, and it has been painfully clear that he has been treated differently and unfairly compared to other children. Instead of empathy and inclusion, he has been met with exclusion and punishment.

I have contacted the school, local authorities, our MP, and medical professionals, but River still doesn’t have the support he’s entitled to. I even had to apply for an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) myself and provide evidence in which the school would not help and support.

But today, River still has no SEN school placement because the local authority says there are no available spaces, and to make things worse, they made an error on his EHCP paperwork, delaying his help even longer.

Although he is under speech and language therapy, he hasn’t been able to receive proper sessions or consistent support because he doesn’t have a school placement. He is being left behind — through no fault of his own — by a system that is supposed to protect him.

This isn’t just about my child. It’s about a system that is failing SEN children across the country, particularly those from minority backgrounds. Children like River are being forgotten, mislabelled, and pushed out of education, instead of being nurtured and supported.

We are calling on the Department for Education and all local authorities to:

Ensure all EHCPs are processed accurately and without delay.
Guarantee a suitable school place for every SEN child.
Provide access to therapy and emotional support for all children with additional needs.
Investigate and address racial bias in the education system.
Hold schools and local authorities accountable when they fail to meet their legal duties to SEN children.

Every child deserves a fair chance to learn, grow, and thrive — regardless of their background or needs.

Please sign and share to help us make sure no child is forgotten again.