Sussex families stand in solidarity for children failed by SEND system
It's part of the national "Every Pair Tells a Story" action
Last updated 3rd Nov 2025
Sussex families are standing together in solidarity today to highlight the number of children being failed by the SEND system.
They form part of the national "Every Pair Tells a Story" action, showing 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.
Mum Belle is among those taking part. She tells us despite being non-verbal and receiving an autism diagnosis, her three-year-old son Ezra has not received the help he needs: "Everything we've met has been met with resistance, saying he's too little.
"And it's like, hang on, you're promoting early intervention, and then the professionals are telling us 'he's too little', 'he won't benefit from speech and therapy at this age', which is completely not true."
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.
One of the events is taking place outside Brighton's council offices.
Councillor Emma Daniel, Cabinet member for Children, Families and Youth Services at Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “As a council we recognise the concerns raised by families as part of the Every Pair Tells a Story campaign.
“We acknowledge that the challenges within the SEND system are real, understand and acknowledge people’s genuine frustrations and remain committed to improving support for children and families across Brighton & Hove.
“We are actively taking steps to do this, including opening a new residential home in the city, increasing investment in holiday provision for our children with the highest support needs and improving the education offer for children with social, emotional and mental health needs through nurturing units in mainstream primary schools.
“We endeavour to do all we can to support children and families.”
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.”