DISABLED families rallied outside Westminster ahead of a Commons debate today on making the government commit to maintaining current levels of mandatory support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

The MPs’ debate was called after more than 122,000 people signed a petition calling for the commitment from ministers.

Tiya Currie, 47, who took part in the rally by Disabled Children’s Partnership, said that she had been forced to give up her job in July 2023 to fight an “exhausting” battle to get the right support for her six-year-old son Arun.

Arun has developmental language disorder (DLD), a lifelong condition that makes it difficult for him to express, understand and use language.

Ms Currie said: “My son has finally started at his new school and is thriving in a DLD specialist unit, but it’s been a costly legal fight to get here and his school is 13 miles away from home, meaning a long round-trip for us.

“Even in London, there is an absolute lack of appropriate provision for disabled children like Arun.

“Research from national disability charity Sense shows that almost half of parents with disabled children have struggled to find a school that meets their child’s needs, meaning there are thousands of children across the country missing out on the support and education they need to get the best start in life.

“This can have lifelong consequences. The government must address this underfunded, under-resourced system, and I hope by standing strong at today’s rally and sharing my story I can play a small part in doing that.”  

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) co-founder Linda Burnip said: “DPAC supports inclusive education for all children, but the cuts to Send budgets mean that the provision for this to happen are woefully inadequate still.”

The petition stated: “We ask the government to commit to maintaining the existing law, so that vulnerable children with Send can access education and achieve their potential.”

The government's reply on August 5 said: “There will always be a legal right to additional support for children with Send.

“No decisions have been made on changes to legislation.

“We are engaging with families on improvements to Send provision.”