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For ages, I was desperate to create a film about Send.

You might know me as Linda Carter, but I am equally a mum to an neurodivergent child who also has dyslexic traits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Required months of determination and hard work from both of us to obtain the appropriate education for him. At times, it seemed like a battle.

This is the reason I wanted to make this film, so I could connect with other parents experiencing the similar situation, and speak to teachers, local authorities, and the ministry about how Send children are educated in England.

Understanding Send in the UK

Currently, there are over 1.7 million children in the country with Send. It is a wide-ranging group, encompassing autistic children and people who struggle with speech and language, have attention disorders, and physical disabilities, along with other needs.

Educational institutions in the UK do offer assistance to these students, but if families think their son or daughter needs extra help, they can apply to their local council for an EHCP.

An Education, Health and Care Plan is a crucial document because it is legally binding, states where a child should go to school, and outlines how much additional help they should get.

We devoted hours filling in the application forms to apply for an plan, and many families find the procedure extremely challenging.

A Mother and Son's Journey

Not long after I encounter 15-year-old the young man, he presents his beloved cuddly toy, Reindeer Dog.

Buddy's autistic, meaning his mind experiences and reacts to the world in a different way from others. He struggles with meeting people his own age, managing his emotions, and anxiety. Buddy likes to keep his toy close to him.

Following their move to London from north of the border in October 2024, Buddy's mum, Tunde, started applying for educational placements. She says she contacted at least 11 institutions, but many of them didn't get back to her, and the ones that replied indicated they were full or could not give Buddy extra support without an EHCP.

At the start of this year, more than 638,000 EHCPs had been granted to children and young people in England, a significant increase on the previous year and an substantial growth in half a decade.

The increase is partly because parents and schools have got better at identifying children who have special educational needs, particularly autism spectrum disorder, as rather than there being an increase with Send.

It is the repeat the family have applied for an plan. Their first application was rejected before Buddy was evaluated. Local authorities reject about a quarter of requests at the evaluation phase, as per official figures.

When they lived in Scotland, Tunde notes they did not have to apply for the equivalent of an Education, Health and Care Plan. His secondary school arranged assistance for his academic needs, although not for his well-being.

Scotland has a different system for helping pupils with special needs; educational institutions aim to deliver greater assistance without the requirement for families to apply for the equivalent of an EHCP.

"It's chaotic," Tunde states. "[Securing help] was so easily done, and it should be simple to repeat."

Although the teenager is unable to go to school, the council is providing him with nearly 20 hours of lessons per week in the community library.

The mother tells me the process of seeking an EHCP has been so time consuming she had to stop working as a midwife and community nurse for a period.

"I am unable to do the parenting. I cannot take him to these appointments, and work at the same time… I couldn't get my son seen in the right amount of time and see other people's babies in the necessary period. And it was a toss up - and he won," she comments.

I reconnect with the youth after a lengthy communication assessment.

"Exhausting… that is the only word I have for you," he remarks as he leans against a fence, Reindeer Dog tucked under his arm.

A School for the Teenager

It's September and as millions children begin classes, Buddy is still be taught in the library. Two months after I first met him, he's getting an EHCP but his schooling is still not settled.

The council agreed to the mother's request that he attend an private institution that specializes in pupils who struggle in mainstream schools.

Prior to he can start there, the school has already taken over the sessions he gets in the library. But Tunde's currently uncertain the place will be able to deliver what she thinks her child needs to enhance his social skills and self-assurance with peers his own age.

"We had been all prepared for September… and he's still not at school, he continues to receive one-to-one lessons," she stated.

"In my view … preparing to be with fellow students and then still only having solo with adults has really knocked him back and made him be reluctant to attend school."

Southwark Council says it takes Tunde's concerns with utmost importance and it will continue to assist her family to ensure they receive the provision they need without additional waiting.

It says it understands how hard it can be for families to manage the system, and how upsetting delays in obtaining help can be.

The council adds it has allocated funds in a dedicated support service, and now ensures children are evaluated by specialist teachers at the earliest stage, and it is open to reassessing the situation when parents are worried about school placements.

Existing Framework is Failing

I know there is another side to this story.

The huge rise in the quantity of Education, Health and Care Plans is placing councils under severe budgetary strain. According to projections that English councils are set to run up a total accumulated Send deficit of £4.3bn and £4.9bn by spring 2026.

The government says it has invested a significant sum to help authorities fund plans and additional funds on special educational needs placements.

I traveled to West Sussex County Council to speak with among the few officials in local government willing to discuss on the record about Send funding.

Jacquie Russell is a elected representative and cabinet member for children, young people and learning.

"Today's framework is actually very adversarial. Our parents are increasingly tired and anxious and frustrated of fighting… Employee absence rates are extremely elevated at the present time," she says.

"The current system doesn't work. It has failed. It's not delivering the optimal results for children."

The need for plans is currently exceeding resources in West Sussex. In a decade ago, the council had about 3,400 children with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Today there are more than 10,000.

Consequently the Send deficit has been growing year-on-year, so that at the end of 2025 it reaches over £123m.

"These funds is primarily meant to be for community resources. {That would have|