SEND parents frustrated over system failings
BBCA father has said his son who has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has been out of school for a year as he has struggled to get the right support.
Andrew Wright, from Jersey, said his son who has a range of conditions "just wants to be back in school" but his "basic rights" were not being met.
Two other parents in the island with SEND children have also spoken of a "vicious cycle" where continuous education has been disrupted and their additional needs were not being catered for.
Education Minister Rob Ward acknowledged the system "does not consistently deliver the inclusive, high-quality provision that children, young people, and families deserve".
New figures show the cost of supporting children with SEND in Jersey jumped 120% in five years.
The government spent nearly £38m for schools and services to provide more inclusive support in 2025, up from £17.2m in 2021.
Wright argued "this is a reactive cost" as the "correct money wasn't spent at the correct time at the start of a child's educational journey".
His son has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, with co-occurring autism, ADHD, language disorder, pathological demand avoidance and an intellectual disability equivalence.
"You're constantly having to push for your child's most basic rights to be recognised," he said.
"Although my child's not in school, he's got some outside support, which is costing the Education Department £10,000 a month, so if they got it right from the start then they wouldn't be spending their £10,000 a month."
He called for "every child with suspected special educational needs have a complete neurodevelopmental assessments" and for a less "adversarial" relationship with the education department.
Susanne Gould, whose daughter has ADHD, has been struggling within the school system since 2024.
"She's been suspended numerous amounts of times," she said.
She highlighted problems her daughter has the Ready to Learn (RTL) scheme, where children who have been disruptive are sent to a room if they receive two or more warnings from teachers.
"RTL is 9 til 4 - that always leads to a suspension because she can't handle being in a room for that amount of time," she said.
"It was just a vicious cycle... she now suffers with anxiety."
Claire Lawrence is trying to get her daughter back into mainstream education after she was advised to give her specialist education because of her ADHD.
"I am fighting to get her record of need reassessed," she said.
"She is not getting an education.
"It's been horrendous because I had to cut my hours down with work to the point I almost lost my job so it's just had such a mental and physical toll."
She said "some teachers might not even realise that this child has additional needs".
"There has to be a compromise somewhere because kids aren't all robots," she said.
The education minister said the Independent Island Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review showed "strong examples of good practice across the island" and the increase in funding demonstrated "continued commitment" to supporting young people.
But Wright added: "The current system does not consistently deliver the inclusive, high-quality provision that children, young people, and families deserve.
"Inspectors found significant weaknesses in leadership, coordination, and accountability, along with delays in identifying needs and insufficient specialist support.
"It is clear from both the review and parental feedback that increased funding must be accompanied by fundamental reform.
"We have accepted all recommendations of the Independent SEND Review in full and has already taken steps to strengthen leadership, improve the Educational Psychology Service, and rebuild trust between the central department, schools, and families."
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