Last week we wrote to you letting you know about Jo and Natalie, 2 amazing change makers with an award winning script, BAFTA winning actress - and a mission to tell the world about what happens to SEND families when children can't attend school with a groundbreaking film.
The response was phenomenal - and the Kickstarter gets closer and closer to reaching it's target every day.
Today we wanted you to meet the two women at the heart of this film making campaign, Jo and Natalie, and why they are pouring their lived experience and creative skill into telling a story so many families will recognise. Read their update below.
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We are Jo and Natalie and together we are making Unauthorised Absence, a narrative short film that shines a light on the harm current attendance laws and the broken SEND system are causing families.
Jo is a writer and storyteller who has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Southbank Centre, as well as in countless schools. Eight years ago she had to step back from work to navigate the SEND system with her own family. She fought for assessments, EHCPs and basic support in the face of the same barriers this community knows all too well. She is finally able to tell this story from inside the experience.
Natalie is an independent film producer recognised by BFI Network as a Future Producer. She has five social impact short films currently touring festivals. Before working in film she spent a decade mentoring students who struggled in mainstream education, often because of their SEND needs. When Jo reached out, it was immediately clear that their combined experience was the right fit to tell this story truthfully and with care.
From the beginning we both knew that a narrative short film could shine a human light on what families are living through. It can make visible the emotional toll of a system that is meant to support and too often harms.
What we are making
Unauthorised Absence uses narrative storytelling to show the reality of what SEND families face every day. The fight for support. The emotional and financial strain. The human cost of punitive attendance policies.
We are not here to blame. We are here to humanise, create understanding and spark a national conversation. We want this film to be available online for every household and screened in schools and in parliament.
Recent progress
- Coverage from Warwick Mansell at Education Uncovered
- Support from MP Chris Coghlan
- Public backing from more than forty leading academics, educators, paediatricians and lawyers
- Endorsements from Square Peg, SOS!SEN, Not Fine In School, IPSEA, Special Needs Jungle, Stimpunks, Every Child Matters, Autistic Girls Network, SEND Sanctuary UK and others
- BAFTA winner and Golden Globe nominee Cathy Tyson attached to star
- More than £6,000 raised from 108 supporters - you are all amazing, thank you!
- Press interviews completed this week, with Netmums and Special Needs Jungle articles coming soon
- Seventy five first hand testimonies from parents shared with journalists
We have seventeen days to reach £10,900. To get this film made and bring SEND families lived experiences into the national spotlight we need to reach more people who would want to support it if they knew it existed.
Can you you help?
Every pledge, however big or small - or sharing our campaign - helps us move toward the £10,900 we need to get this film made, Kickstarter details below..
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/natalielauren/unauthorised-absence
Thank you for helping this film take its next steps. You are part of why the story is already moving.
Jo and Natalie