No More Waiting ASN East Renfrewshire

25/10/2025

📣After some reflection, I’ve decided not to move forward with East Ren’s involvement in the “Every Pair Tells a Story” campaign.

It’s a strong initiative for England’s SEND system, but it doesn’t align with Scotland’s framework or the issues we face here under the ASL Act and the presumption of mainstreaming.

Our challenges, legislation, and routes to accountability are completely different.

To be honest, there wasn’t much local interest, and that probably says a lot about where things are right now. It highlights how much work still needs to be done to get people engaged and feeling empowered to take action locally. 💛

24/10/2025

📣 East Renfrewshire Council has deferred its decision on introducing charges for non-residential care services until at least 10 December 2025, meaning no immediate changes will take place. Councillors chose to delay the move amid ongoing national discussions about council funding with COSLA.

Self-Directed Support Forum East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire Council has deferred its decision on introducing charges for non-residential care services until at least 10 December 2025, meaning no immediate changes will take place. Councillors chose to delay the move amid ongoing national discussions about council funding with COSLA.

19/10/2025

Every Pair Tells a Story – National Movement
📅 Monday 3rd November 2025
🕥 10:30 am to 1 pm

Across England, parents and carers will be laying pairs of shoes outside their local authority buildings to represent children who have been failed by the SEND system.

Please bring a pair of shoes labelled with your child’s name or story to your local HUB. You are not expected to stay. This is a silent and peaceful movement.

Any shoes left at 1 pm will be donated to charity.

This is a national event. If your area is not listed below, it means we currently do not have volunteers for that location.

Some areas do still need volunteers and I will be posting what areas they are today

76 local authorities

Barking and Dagenham Council
📍 Town Hall, 1 Clockhouse Avenue, Barking, IG11 7LU

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
📍 Barnsley Town Hall, Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2TA

BCP Council
📍 Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth, BH2 6DY

Bedford Borough Council
📍 Bedford Borough Hall, Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AP

Birmingham City Council
📍 Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB

Bolton Council
📍 Bolton Town Hall, Victoria Square, Bolton, BL1 1RU

Bradford Metropolitan District Council
📍 Bradford City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, BD1 1HY

Brighton & Hove City Council
📍 Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ

Buckinghamshire Council
📍 Walton Street Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1UZ

Calderdale Council
📍 Halifax Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax, HX1 1UJ

Cambridgeshire County Council
📍 New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, PE28 4YE

Cheshire West and Chester
📍 HQ Building, 58 Nicholas Street, Chester, CH1 2NP

Cornwall Council
📍 County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro, TR1 3AY

Coventry City Council
📍 Council House, Earl Street, Coventry, CV1 5RR

Derby City Council
📍 The Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS

Derbyshire County Council
📍 County Hall, Matlock, DE4 3AG

Devon County Council
📍 County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QD

Dorset Council
📍 County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
📍 Council House, Priory Road, Dudley, DY1 1HF

Durham County Council
📍 County Hall, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5UL

Ealing Council
📍 Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, Ealing, London, W5 2BY

East Riding of Yorkshire Council
📍 County Hall, Cross Street, Beverley, HU17 9BA

East Sussex County Council
📍 County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1UE

Essex County Council
📍 County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1QH

Gloucestershire County Council
📍 Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2TG

Hampshire County Council
📍 Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Wi******er, SO23 8UG

Hertfordshire County Council
📍 County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DF

Hull City Council
📍 The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street (corner of Lowgate), Hull, HU1 2AA

Isle of Wight Council
📍 County Hall, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 1UD

Kent County Council
📍 County Hall, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ

Kingston and Richmond
📍 Guildhall 2, High Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1EU

Kirklees Council
📍 Civic Centre 3, High Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2TG

Lancashire County Council
📍 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, PR1 8XJ

Leeds City Council
📍 Leeds Civic Hall, Calverley Street, Leeds, LS1 1UR

Leicester City Council
📍 City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ

Lincolnshire County Council
📍 County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YL

London Borough of Bexley
📍 Civic Offices, 2 Watling Street, Bexleyheath, DA6 7AT

London Borough of Bromley
📍 Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
📍 Hammersmith Town Hall, King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9JU

London Borough of Havering
📍 Town Hall, Main Road, Romford, RM1 3BD

London Borough of Hillingdon
📍 Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW

London Borough of Hounslow
📍 7 Bath Road, Hounslow, TW3 3EB

London Borough of Lewisham
📍 Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, Catford, London, SE6 4RU

London Borough of Sutton
📍 Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1EA

Medway Council
📍 Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR

Milton Keynes City Council
📍 Civic Office, Silbury Boulevard, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3EJ

Newcastle City Council
📍 Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QH

Norfolk County Council
📍 County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DH

North Ayrshire Council (Scotland)
📍 Cunninghame House, Friars Croft, Irvine, KA12 8EE

North Northamptonshire Council
📍 Swanspool House, Doddington Road, Wellingborough, NN8 1BP

North Somerset Council
📍 Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ

North Yorkshire Council
📍 St Nicholas Street, Scarborough, YO11 2HG

Oxfordshire County Council
📍 County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND

Peterborough City Council
📍 Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1HF

Plymouth City Council
📍 Ballard House, 26 West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ

Portsmouth City Council
📍 Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2EA

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
📍 Riverside House, Main Street, Rotherham, S60 1AE

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
📍 Town Hall, St Ives Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1RF

Sefton Council
📍 Bootle Town Hall, Oriel Road, Bootle, L20 7AE

Sheffield City Council (South Yorkshire)
📍 Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH

Shropshire Council
📍 Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury, SY3 8HQ

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
📍 Manor Square, Solihull, B91 3QB

Somerset County Council
📍 County Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY

South Gloucestershire Council
📍 Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 9TR

Southampton City Council
📍 Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LY

Southwark Council
📍 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH

Staffordshire County Council
📍 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, ST16 2DH

Surrey County Council
📍 County Hall, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, RH2 8EF

Torbay Council
📍 Town Hall, Castle Circus, Torquay, TQ1 3DR

Warwickshire County Council
📍 Shire Hall, Warwick, CV34 4RL

West Northamptonshire Council
📍 The Guildhall, St Giles’ Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE

West Suffolk Council
📍 West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU

West Sussex County Council
📍 County Hall, West Street, Chichester, PO19 1RG

Westminster City Council
📍 City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP

Worcestershire County Council
📍 County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2NP

19/10/2025

💛 Calling East Renfrewshire ASN Parent/Carers 💛

I’m looking for 3 more people (more the merrier) to join in taking part in the The SEND Sanctuary UK Every Pair Tells a Story movement — a peaceful, national act highlighting how children with Additional Support Needs (ASN) across Scotland are being failed by the education system.

📣This peaceful act can only go ahead if we have minimum 5 people. There is already myself and one other parent.

If it does go ahead….We’ll be laying out pairs of children’s shoes outside the East Renfrewshire Council Offices, Barrhead (211 Main Street, G78 1SY) on Monday 3rd November, between 10:30 am and 1 pm.

Each pair of shoes represents a child who has:

👟 No school place

👟 A reduced timetable

👟 Been forgotten by the system

👟 A family fighting endlessly for help that should be a right, not a battle.

This is not a protest — it’s a peaceful, silent act of unity and awareness.

Together, we’ll show the scale of what’s happening within Scotland’s ASN system and the urgent need for change

We’re keeping this as accessible as possible — no long walking, no marching, just a simple drop-off or short stay if that’s what you can manage. Every contribution counts.

If you’d like to be one of the 5 parents representing East Renfrewshire or looking for more information on the movement, please comment below or message me directly on the No More Waiting ASN East Renfrewshire page 💛

Every pair matters. Every story deserves to be seen.

10/10/2025

Regarding some recent information that’s come to light about services having their budgets cut and support being removed from children even when that support is working, it’s becoming more vital than ever that we share this information with each other and don’t stay silent.

Our campaign will always stand behind parent/carers who wish to remain anonymous. You will be supported and your voice will still be heard. 💬

Our questionnaire is still open just now if anyone wants to share their experiences — every single response matters and helps build the bigger picture.

📝 https://forms.gle/nu1i9J37TNij844A7

Please share this post or tag other parent/carers who might want to take part. The more of us who speak up, the harder we are to ignore. 💪

This short anonymous questionnaire is part of the No More Waiting campaign. We are gathering evidence from families in East Renfrewshire about children with ASN who are not getting the education and support they need. It takes less than 3 minutes to complete. No names or personal details are require...

10/10/2025

📣Sharing on behalf of a fellow East renfrewshire carer Sarah Logan

📣More details below in the comments! 👇

Hi everyone,

I posted about this some months ago, however, we now find ourselves in the position of having to fight again on behalf of our loved ones.

Many of you may not be aware but East Renfrewshire Council are currently proposing to slash their social care budget and take money from the most vulnerable members of our authority.

At present the Council strategy aims to :

(a) slash care packages to the bare minimum removing any social care.

(b) thereafter return to take 40% from any benefits received once a deduction has been made for ‘living expenses’. Benefits are classed as income.

This is not ok!

My sister and brother, and many others, requires day to day support to get out in the community, interact with other members of the public and life a full and happy life. The support is a lifeline and without it she would be spending each and every day at home with my parents.

This policy, if pushed through, would directly affect many families within our constituency, many of whom already face significant barriers each and every single day. If you do not have a family member with additional support needs you may have no idea the hurdles and obstacles many of these families already have to overcome on a daily basis. The prospect of current support being withdrawn is absolutely terrifying for them. This support is a lifeline for both the young adults and carers alike and provides our young people with a little bit of freedom and independence away from their parents - something that many of us take for granted. The negative mental health impacts of these cuts will be catastrophic for our most vulnerable members of society.

Parents who have fought on their child’s behalf their whole life are now having to fight once again, some parents even at retirement age, for their child to have access to basic human rights. It is incredibly cruel, callous and unfair.

East Renfrewshire prides itself on being an inclusive and supportive authority and if these proposals are pushed through then it would be going against everything it stands for. The money is also there to continue to provide the support as they have an underspend - this makes their proposal even more callous.

PLEASE RAISE AWARENESS!

This may not affect you now but could in the future. If you are lucky enough to live to a

ripe old age and need care, there will be no money. If you or members of your family are of childbearing age and have a child with a

learning disability who needs support, there may be no funding at all.

The refurbishment of the Council headquarters in Eastwood Park is nearly £2million over budget (now hitting the £6 million mark) and this is deemed ‘acceptable’. The new swimming pool in Eastwood Park is costing £50+ million. Councillors have been awarded pay rises this year. The council have an UNDERSPEND of £2.14 million. Yet they have the audacity to come out and say they ‘have no other choice’ but to recoup a further £1.5 million by cutting care for the most vulnerable members of our society.

It would also massively help our fight if you could CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLORS - and in just a few sentences ask them to voice their concern and vote against the two-pronged attack on the most vulnerable in our community which is callous in the extreme. The more people we have behind us the better!

We appreciate your help with this matter - something we should never have to fight for!

We should never be forced to fight for individuals to be able to live a full and happy life.

29/09/2025

There is nothing therapeutic about restraint!

Speaking as a parent with lived experience of a child being physically restrained in school, carried, held, movements restricted during distress. I know how true this is.

At the time, I didn’t even realise what was happening was against the law. Many parents don’t. We are told this is “necessary,” “supportive,” or “the only option.” But the law is clear: restraint should only ever be used as a last resort and only if there is an immediate risk of serious harm. Anything else is unlawful.

Carrying a child against their will to control or move them is restraint. Using restraint when a child is distressed, rather than in danger, breaches both Scottish Government guidance and children’s rights under the UNCRC. Article 19 protects children from all forms of physical or mental violence.

Parents who object to these practices are too often painted as “unreasonable” or “difficult.” But there is nothing unreasonable about protecting children from harm.

This campaign stands with every child who has been restrained in school. Their rights matter. Their dignity matters. Change is long overdue.

24/09/2025

📣 Sharing this on behalf of a fellow ER parent/carer.

•Please contact the parent directly for further assistance. You will find their details in the comments.

“I have an investigative journalist calling me this week to discuss the failings of East Renfrewshire council and their provision (or lack thereof) of education to ASN kids. If you’d be willing to share your story then please please send me a pm with your email and mobile number.
You can go under a different name if you like, no pressure to put your name out there. The more of us that speak up the more traction the story will get and the further this can go.”

23/09/2025

✨ A huge thank you to everyone who has filled in the questionnaire so far — we’re already at 59 responses!

We want to hear from all families, whether your child is in mainstream, specialist, private, or currently out of education. Every single voice matters and helps build the full picture of what families are facing.

If you haven’t yet had the chance, please do take a few minutes to share your views. If you’ve already completed it, we’d be so grateful if you could share the link on, the more responses we gather, the stronger our collective voice becomes.

👉 Your experience counts. Your voice matters. Together we can push for change.

📝 Complete the questionnaire here

This short anonymous questionnaire is part of the No More Waiting campaign. We are gathering evidence from families in East Renfrewshire about children with ASN who are not getting the education and support they need. It takes less than 3 minutes to complete. No names or personal details are require...

17/09/2025

Thank you to all the parent carers who have completed our questionnaire so far! Keep sharing if you can please!

I want to add families of children with additional needs are already stretched to breaking point. We’re juggling battles at home, at school, and with services every single day. Councils know this, and they rely on it, they know most parents are too exhausted, or too scared of repercussions for their children, to challenge the system. That fear and exhaustion gives the council enormous power and allows failings to continue unchecked.

The truth is, parents shouldn’t have to choose between protecting their child’s immediate wellbeing and speaking out about systemic failures. But that’s exactly the position many of us are forced into. This is why collective action and hard evidence are so important, one family can be ignored, but a community of voices backed by facts cannot be dismissed!

15/09/2025

🚨 Parents & Carers in East Renfrewshire – we need your voice! 🚨

If you have a child with additional support needs (ASN), please take a few minutes to complete this short anonymous questionnaire:

The aim is simple:
• To gather real experiences of ASN education in East Renfrewshire.
• To highlight both the strengths and the gaps in current provision.
• To make sure our collective voices are heard.

Every response matters. Whether your child is thriving, struggling, or somewhere in between – your input will help paint an honest picture.

Please share this with other local families who have children with additional needs. The more responses we have, the stronger our case for change.

💬 Thank you so much for taking the time – together we can push for better support and inclusion.

This short anonymous questionnaire is part of the No More Waiting campaign. We are gathering evidence from families in East Renfrewshire about children with ASN who are not getting the education and support they need. It takes less than 3 minutes to complete. No names or personal details are require...

12/09/2025

Welcome to No More Waiting ASN East Renfrewshire. We are parents standing up for our children’s rights to education and support. This page will share stories, evidence, and actions to hold our council accountable. Please follow, share, and help us grow — together, our voices are stronger. No More Waiting ASN East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire Council Blair McDougall Enquire - Scottish advice service for additional support for learning