SEND families protest in Northamptonshire
Children's shoes representing special needs children will be left outside the Northampton Guildhall, and Swanspool House in Wellingborough.
Last updated 3rd Nov 2025
Parents in Northamptonshire are standing together in solidarity with thousands of others today to highlight the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities being failed by the SEND system.
Two local events are taking place outside council buildings as part of the national "Every Pair Tells a Story" action, outside the Northampton Guildhall, for families under West Northants Council (WNC), and Swanspool House in Wellingborough, for those in North Northamptonshire Council (NNC).
It aims to help show that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities deserve education, support, and a future.
Participants have been asked to bring along a pair of shoes to represent their child with the aim that together they want to highlight the scale of the crisis.
Sofia Gasper's autistic son is still without a school place, after North Northants Council send outdated Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to prospective schools. She's protesting at Swanspool House in Wellingborough.
Sofia has this message for other parents:
"Keep talking, keep doing it. It does get somewhere and I guess we got to remember that anger sparks our action. But let's let's keep the love we have for our children fuel it."
Vikki Fairhurst set up Zak's Wish in honour of her special needs son who died in 2022. But she says despite Zak being quadriplegic with cerebral palsy he was never entitled to one on one care, even though he was unable to do anything on his own:
"I just think the system and it always, I believe the system's always been broken. You have to fight, fight, fight for everything."
The SEND Sanctuary UK who are behind today's action is a parent-led movement built from lived experience.
They bring together families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to connect, share and be heard.
They believe no family should ever feel alone, unheard or unsupported and they are working to change the conversation around SEND through connection, awareness and action.
The movement today is a silent, fully inclusive event with no walking and no protesting.
Cllr Mark Arnull, Leader of WNC said: “I’m aware of the protests organised by SEND Sanctuary UK taking place nationally, including one here in Northampton.
“In West Northants we are working hard with partners to improve outcomes for families, but with unprecedented demand for services, depleted funding and the national SEND system effectively broken and urgently needing reform, we are swimming against the tide.”
NNC’s executive member for children’s, families and education, Cllr Elizabeth Wright, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We know that the number of children and young people being identified with SEND, both nationally and locally, is increasing at unprecedented rates.
“To address these challenges, a huge amount of work has gone into developing a SEND strategic sufficiency programme, seeking to create 800 additional places in partnership with mainstream and special schools by 2031/32. Alongside system-wide improvements, we are committed to working with our partners – and parents – to ensure every child and young person with SEND receives the support they need to thrive.
“We would also encourage families with concerns, or who require further support and information to contact the North Northamptonshire SEND Information Advice Support Service.”
Sabrina was at the protest at Wellingborough, she has two teenage sons with special educational needs, her 13 year old has been waiting for a school place for 19 months.
It's forced her to give her career:
"I have been a paramedic for 19 years, but I had to walk away last month, it my last month, because we just can't manage to do it anymore.
"I can't be at home 24 hours a day with a child that's not in school and still go out and be a paramedic."
After the event, all donated shoes will be collected and given to local charities supporting children and families in need.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“This government inherited a SEND system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to secure the right support. We’re determined to put that right and deliver a better system that supports children and families at every stage.
“We have already carried out over 100 listening sessions with families, and Minister Gould will be leading the engagement with more parents to make sure we deliver better outcomes for every child through the Schools White Paper as part of our Plan for Change.
“Through that engagement we have already made progress on our plans to build a truly inclusive system – including through improved training for teachers, £740 million to create more specialist places, earlier intervention for speech and language needs and embedding SEND leads in our Best Start Family Hubs in every local area.”