Our Freedom of Information request has revealed something important about selective mutism support in West Sussex — something families were never told, despite years of asking for help.

1️⃣ Training exists — but has not been shared.

West Sussex County Council has developed four selective mutism bitesize training webinars, created by Educational Psychologist and available to schools through the EP learning library.

Yet:

Parents going through EHCP assessments, annual reviews and SENAT processes state that their schools were never sign posted to them. 
Schools report they were never told they exist. 
Even within educational psychologist assessments - this training was not mentioned. 

It took a Freedom of Information request for this training to become visible.

2️⃣ The training is helpful — but not enough on its own.

The webinars introduce key strategies such as:

sliding-in
graded exposure
shaping
For some children, particularly in early years, this could make a meaningful difference.

However:

the training is introductory, not comprehensive. It provides examples, not full guidance.  These techniques can be harmful if used incorrectly.

Teachers need structured, supported training — not isolated resources hidden in a system they are not directed to.

3️⃣ WSCC’s own training highlights missing support;

Within the training, WSCC state:

“When a child requires more individualised or intensive support, a bespoke CBT intervention should be delivered by a trained mental health practitioner or specialist facilitator.”

This level of support is not currently available locally.  (Sadly our children lack the support that is offered as close as East Sussex or Portsmouth)

NHS Sussex do not commission a pathway through any of their services.
Referrals for selective mutism are  declined.
Families cannot access the very support WSCC identify as necessary via the NHS and this is not commissioned in EHCPs for most. Those who have similar interventions within an EHCP have paid out for expensive  private reports leading to WSCC provisioning support, this echp inequality needs to stop. 

4️⃣ Other areas do provide support.

NHS Sussex state that the lack of a pathway is “consistent with national practice”.

However, responses from other areas show:

Some provide support via Speech & Language Therapy.
Some through CAMHS.
Some through therapy teams.
Some through school-based intervention.
Some have published pathways.
There is no single national model — but many areas do support these children and they don’t have specialist selective mutism teams - they have the exact same professionals as West Sussex. 

The difference is that they do not block access to services and they are trained in selective mutism. They make a decision not to fall in line with the lowest level of support that some areas provide - they make a choice to help these children. West Sussex children deserve the same. 

5️⃣ The foundations already exist.

West Sussex already has:

-Basic selective mutism training. 
-Ability to commission more in-depth training through educational psychologists - also confirmed via freedom of information response. 
-Educational Psychology expertise. 
- Early intervention systems outlined in basic training. 
- Introduction to evidence-based strategies.

What is missing is:

A published pathway.

More detailed training on how to implement techniques within education. 
A clear referral route.
Consistent expectations for schools.
Accountability  across services.
Clear communication to families and professionals.

What this means:

This is not about creating something new.

It is about recognising, organising, improving and implementing what already exists — and publishing this as a pathway so that every child receives consistent, safe support.

⭐ Our Call to Action

We call on West Sussex County Council to:

Publish a clear selective mutism pathway.
Ensure all schools and early years settings  are aware of existing basic training.
Provide further structured support and training for teachers supporting children with selective mutism. 
Ensure EHCPs reflect the specialist input identified in their own guidance.

We call on NHS Sussex to:

Stop declining referrals for selective mutism.
Train existing teams to deliver appropriate support.
Work jointly with WSCC to create a clear, accessible, published pathway.

💛 Final message

Our children deserve a system that is visible, consistent, and safe — not one that has to be uncovered through a Freedom of Information request.

After local elections we will submit our petition. We will also be engaging with larger scale media with several families stepping forward to share the devastation this lack of accountability causes. 

You could do one more small thing to help West Sussex children be heard - show this petition to one more person and ask them to sign. It’s as simple as one more - and suddenly our numbers are over 2000. 

Thank you for standing together to say anxiety shouldn’t steal childhoods. 

Thank you for believing that West Sussex children deserve the same support that exists just a few miles away. 

Thank you - for being a voice for these children when anxiety steals theirs.

Jo