The SEND Sanctuary UK

10/06/2026

This is a free course for anyone who would like to sign up

https://www.facefamilyadvice.co.uk/supportforparents

03/06/2026

The Government is considering cutting vital support for disabled people. Sign Sense's petition to say no to more cuts for disabled people.

The Government is considering cutting vital support for disabled people. Sign Sense's petition to say no to more cuts for disabled people.

01/06/2026

It’s genuinely disturbing the way disabled people are being talked about lately. The framing is always “look how many people are getting accommodations” instead of asking why those accommodations exist in the first place.

A Priority Pass at Disney isn’t a luxury. For many disabled people, it’s the difference between being able to go at all or not. Autism, ADHD, sensory issues, chronic illness, epilepsy, anxiety and invisible disabilities are constantly dismissed because people reduce disability down to “can you stand in a queue?”

Meanwhile the rhetoric gets nastier. “Too many diagnoses.” “Everyone’s autistic now.” “Special treatment.” It creates resentment toward some of the most vulnerable people in society while governments quietly tighten support, cut services and chip away at protections through the back door.

Disneyland Paris sees 10 to 15 million visitors a year, yet estimates suggest only around 100,000 disabled guests use support services across ALL countries combined. British disabled visitors are likely only a tiny fraction of that.

The system is not being overrun.

Most disabled people spend their lives trying not to inconvenience anyone. Most parents of disabled children are exhausted from fighting for the bare minimum. Nobody is battling EHCPs, DLA forms, assessments, tribunals and public judgement just for a shorter queue at Disney.

And while people are busy being encouraged to hate each other, the people in power avoid scrutiny for what is actually happening to disabled support in this country.

29/05/2026

Can’t believe I won another award. 🤍🧡
I still have all 5500 tags
Maybe they need to be dusted off and shown again to the DfE and government for a little reminder

thank you.

21/05/2026

I was asked to give my thoughts on the recent PR stunt by the department of education please see it in the below Bbc article

The education secretary defends videos starring The Only Way Is Essex star promoting post-16 education.

21/05/2026

Every single week there seems to be another headline designed to turn disabled people against each other.

“ADHD shouldn’t give an automatic right to a Blue Badge.”
“People with anxiety and ADHD are getting permits.”
“Hidden disabilities are undermining the system.”

Except… that’s not how it works.

Nobody with ADHD automatically gets a Blue Badge. Nobody wakes up, ticks a box, and is handed one because they’re neurodivergent. Applications are assessed on need, safety, mobility, psychological distress, risk awareness, ability to navigate journeys, and the real-world impact of a condition.

What these articles are doing is deliberately fuelling resentment toward disabled people instead of addressing the actual failures in the system.

Parents of autistic children, ADHDers, people with learning disabilities, people with physical disabilities, wheelchair users, people with chronic illness… we are all being pushed into fighting each other for scraps while support is continually stripped away.

And the comments sections become exactly what the headlines want:
“Why do THEY get help?”
“They’re taking spaces from REAL disabled people.”
“They don’t look disabled.”

Meanwhile disabled people are already exhausted from having to justify their existence every single day.

A Blue Badge is not a luxury prize.
It is not a status symbol.
It is an accessibility aid intended to keep disabled people safe and allow them access to the world.

This constant media narrative of “crackdowns”, “misuse”, and “hidden disabilities taking over” is dangerous because it encourages harassment, suspicion, and hostility toward disabled people who already face enough barriers.

Stop pitting disabled communities against one another.

The problem has never been disabled people needing support.
The problem is a society that continually treats accessibility like something people have to earn through suffering publicly enough to be believed.

Articles taken from the telegraph and LBC

19/05/2026

As a SEND parent currently heading towards tribunal, I cannot even explain how deeply tone deaf this whole thing feels.

Parents are traumatised.
Families are breaking.
Children are being failed every single day by a system that is supposed to protect them.

Some parents are literally grieving children lost after years of unmet need, school trauma, mental health collapse, and systemic failure.

So watching the Department for Education turn SEND into PR content and celebrity skits while consultations have barely even closed is honestly sickening.

This is not entertainment to us.
This is our real life.

And telling parents “please do not worry ❤️” while they are fighting to keep their children safe, educated, regulated, and alive is not reassuring.

It feels dismissive.
It feels insulting.
And it shows just how disconnected those in power are from what families are actually living through.

19/05/2026

This screenshot honestly sums up exactly why so many SEND parents feel insulted and unheard right now.

Parents are pouring their hearts into consultations about a system that is already failing disabled children. Families are surviving tribunal after tribunal, years-long waits, school refusals, mental health crises, burnout, and children being left without appropriate support.

And somehow the response from the Department for Education has become celebrity PR comments saying:
“I’m going to change everything and help everyone please do not worry ❤️”

This is not a reality TV storyline.
This is not entertainment.
This is not a social media campaign.

These are real children.
Real families.
Real lives being damaged every single day by a broken system.

What parents wanted from this consultation process was honesty, transparency, and reassurance that lived experiences were actually being listened to.

Instead, many families are walking away feeling like decisions have already been made behind closed doors while public-facing content turns SEND into something polished, marketable, and easy to digest for social media.

Telling parents “don’t worry” while they are fighting to keep their children safe, educated, regulated, and supported is not reassuring.
It feels dismissive.
It feels performative.
And for many families, it genuinely feels like we are being mocked while we beg for help.

SEND families do not need celebrity saviours.
We need protections.
We need funding.
We need specialist provision.
We need accountability.
And we need a government that understands the seriousness of what families are actually living through every single day.

19/05/2026

I’ve just watched the Department for Education video with Gemma Collins walking into the DfE asking, “Right, what are we doing to help the children?” before sitting down with Bridget Phillipson.

Maybe it was meant to feel light-hearted or relatable.

But for many SEND families, it doesn’t land that way at all.

Not when parents are surviving on broken sleep, fighting tribunals, chasing EHCPs for years, begging for school placements, watching their children deteriorate while being told to “wait”, and carrying the emotional and financial exhaustion that comes with a system already on its knees.

The timing feels completely tone deaf.

The SEND white paper consultation has only just closed, yet many parents already feel the decisions have been made long before our voices were ever heard. Families attended consultations. Parents sat in rooms sharing trauma, desperation, and lived experiences. Many of us gave detailed feedback in good faith because we hoped we were finally being listened to.

So seeing a glossy social media skit reduced to celebrity cameos and staged conversations feels deeply uncomfortable.

This is not entertainment for us.

This is our children’s lives.

Parents are frightened about what is coming next. Many fear support will become harder to access, specialist provision reduced, and legal protections weakened under the language of “inclusion” and “reform”.

We do not need performative content.
We need honesty.
We need transparency.
We need action.
And above all, we need reassurance that disabled children and their families are actually being listened to not managed through PR campaigns.

Because right now, to many families, this doesn’t feel reassuring.
It feels dismissive.