19/10/2025
Welcome to Suitable Education for Every Child (SEFEC)
This page exists because thousands of children across England are being denied their legal right to suitable full time education - and it's time we stopped accepting this as inevitable.
The Law:
Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places an absolute duty on local authorities to arrange suitable education for any child of compulsory school age who cannot attend school - whether due to illness, unmet needs, mental health, trauma, exclusion, or any other reason.
This duty applies to all children of compulsory school age - whether they have an EHCP or not, whether they're on a school roll or not (unless EHE), whether they have a formal diagnosis or not.
The law says provision must be arranged "as soon as it is clear" a child will be absent for 15 days or more, and must start "at the latest by the sixth day" of that absence.
The Reality:
Children wait not 6 days, but weeks, months, often years - with nothing.
Meanwhile, local authorities across England:
* Require specialist diagnoses and medical evidence that aren't required in law
* Operate gatekeeping panels (like "Medical Needs Panels") that treat a statutory duty as if it were discretionary provision
* Tell families "the school is responsible" and tell schools "work with the family" whilst avoiding their own duty
* Offer unsuitable provision that doesn't meet children's needs and replicates what failed them at school
* Fine and prosecute families for absences whilst failing to arrange the education they're legally obligated to provide
And here's what makes this systematic, not just individual failure:
Local authorities are repeatedly found at fault through judicial reviews and Local Government Ombudsman complaints. They're told to apologise, change their policies, compensate families.
Then they do exactly the same thing to the next family.
There's no oversight checking whether they've actually changed their practices. No consequences for repeated breaches. Just individual families fighting individual battles whilst the system continues failing everyone else.
Who we are: SEFEC is a grassroots movement challenging these systemic failures. We're families who've experienced this, educators who've watched children disappear from the system, and advocates who are tired of seeing the same councils breach the same duties over and over with no accountability.
We believe that every child deserves education that is accessible, meaningful, and meets their needs - without barriers, gatekeeping, or excuses.
An offer of education means nothing if a child cannot actually access it.
What we're doing:
Our founding campaign, 15 Days and Counting, tackles the gap between law and reality under Section 19. We're launching a parliament petition demanding:
1. Clearer guidance that councils can't misinterpret - explicitly prohibiting the unlawful barriers they currently use
2. Transparency through monthly published data on how many children are waiting, for how long, and why
3. Proactive oversight through annual audits - not just reactive complaints after children have already been failed
4. Real consequences including fast-track appeals and financial penalties for systematic breaches
5. Protection for families so they're not fined or prosecuted when councils fail to provide education
6. Ring-fenced funding so councils can't use budget pressures as an excuse
But SEFEC is broader than one campaign.
We're:
* Redefining what "suitable" means (by children's actual needs, not what's convenient to provide)
* Bridging divides between families and schools (who are being weaponised against each other by councils avoiding accountability)
* Exposing systemic failures that affect thousands, not just individual cases
* Building coalitions for lasting change
This isn't just about children with EHCPs. Many families don't realise Section 19 exists or that it applies to their child. This lack of knowledge creates inequality - families who know their rights can challenge unlawful denials, whilst those who don't (often families already facing multiple disadvantages) cannot.
Children's rights shouldn't depend on their parents' legal knowledge.
How you can be involved:
Just want to follow along? Follow this page for campaign updates, petition launches, resources, template letters, and ways you can help from the sidelines (signing, sharing, amplifying).
Want to be actively involved? Join our WhatsApp group [https://chat.whatsapp.com/DNA4wdyFvZ5KwjoHPVqw8G?mode=wwt] to help shape campaigns, gather evidence, create content, strategize, and build this movement together. This is grassroots organising - collaborative, messy, and powerful.
Why this matters:
Every day without suitable education is a day of lost learning, worsening mental health, and reduced life chances. Every family fighting alone deserves support. Every school blamed for systemic failures deserves better. Every council breaching the law should face consequences.
We refuse to accept that:
* Children should wait whilst councils create barriers that don't exist in law
* The same authorities can be found at fault repeatedly with no systemic change
* Families should fight battles they shouldn't have to whilst schools are blamed for the impossible
* Education is something you only get if your parents know to demand it
If that resonates - welcome. Follow the page. Join the group. Share our campaigns. Use our resources. Tell your story. Become part of this.
Every child deserves education. Not on paper. In reality.
