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For a long time, I've been desperate to create a film about Send.

Perhaps you know me as my EastEnders role, but I am equally a mum to an autistic son who also has dyslexic traits and ADHD.

Required months of perseverance and hard work from my husband and I to obtain the appropriate schooling for him. Sometimes, it felt like a struggle.

That is why I decided to make this film, so I could meet other families experiencing the similar situation, and discuss with teachers, councils, and the government about how children with special needs are educated in the UK.

Understanding Send in the UK

There are more than 1.7 million young people in England with Send. It is a wide-ranging group, encompassing autistic children and people who struggle with speech and language, have ADHD, and physical disabilities, along with other needs.

Schools in England do offer some support to these students, but if families believe their child requires extra help, they can make an application to their council for an EHCP.

An EHCP is a vital legal document because it is enforceable by law, states where a child should go to school, and outlines how much extra support they should get.

We devoted countless hours filling in the forms to apply for an EHCP, and numerous parents find the process extremely challenging.

Buddy and Tunde

Not long after I encounter teenage Buddy, he shows me his beloved stuffed animal, his comfort object.

Buddy's autistic, which means his mind processes and responds to the environment in a unique manner from others. He faces difficulties in socializing his own age, managing his emotions, and anxiety. He prefers to keep his toy close to him.

Following their move to the capital from north of the border in October 2024, Buddy's mum, the parent, started applying for educational placements. She says she tried at least 11 schools, but many of them didn't get back to her, and the ones that replied said they were full or could not give Buddy the necessary help without an EHCP.

By the beginning of the current year, over 638,000 plans had been issued to students in England, a significant increase on the previous year and an 80% increase in six years.

The increase is partly because parents and schools have got better at recognizing pupils who have special educational needs, especially autism spectrum disorder, as opposed to there being an increase with Send.

This marks the second time Buddy and Tunde have sought an plan. Their first application was rejected before Buddy was assessed. Councils reject about a quarter of requests at the assessment stage, according to government data.

During their time in the Scottish system, Tunde says they were not required to apply for the equivalent of an EHCP. Buddy's comprehensive school provided assistance for his learning, but not for his well-being.

The Scottish system has a different system for helping children with special needs; schools there aim to offer more support without the need for parents to apply for the equivalent of an plan.

"It's a madness," she says. "[Securing help] was straightforward, and it could be simple to repeat."

While Buddy is not able to go to school, the council is offering him with nearly 20 hours of tuition per week in the community library.

The mother explains the process of applying for an plan has been so demanding she had to pause her career as a birth attendant and community nurse for a time.

"I can't manage my duties. I can't get him to these sessions, and work at the identical time… I couldn't secure appointments for my child in the appropriate timeframe and attend to patients' infants in the necessary period. And it was a toss up - and my son prevailed," she comments.

We catch up with the youth after a lengthy speech and language evaluation.

"Draining… that's all I have for you," he says as he leans against a barrier, Reindeer Dog held close.

A School for the Teenager

As autumn begins and as countless students start term, Buddy is still be educated in the library. 60 days after I initially encountered him, he's receiving an EHCP but his education is yet to be resolved.

The local council approved the mother's appeal that he go to an independently run institution that specializes in pupils who struggle in standard education.

Prior to he can begin there, the school has already taken over the lessons he receives in the library. But the parent's currently uncertain the school will be able to deliver what she thinks her child needs to enhance his interpersonal abilities and self-assurance with peers his own age.

"We were all prepared for the start of term… and he remains not at school, he's still having individual instruction," she said.

"In my view … preparing to be with other kids and then still just being solo with adults has set him back and caused him to not want to attend school."

The local authority says it takes Tunde's concerns very seriously and it will continue to assist her household to ensure they receive the support they need without further delay.

It says it understands how difficult it can be for parents to navigate the process, and how distressing delays in obtaining help can be.

It says it has invested in a dedicated information and advice team, and currently guarantees children are assessed by expert educators at the earliest stage, and it is open to reassessing the situation when parents are concerned about school placements.

Existing Framework is Failing

I know there is another side to this issue.

The huge rise in the number of Education, Health and Care Plans is putting councils under severe budgetary strain. According to projections that English councils are set to accumulate a total accumulated special needs shortfall between £4.3bn and £4.9bn by March 2026.

The government says it has invested a billion pounds to help authorities pay for EHCPs and additional funds on special educational needs placements.

I traveled to a local authority to speak with among the few officials in local government willing to talk to me publicly about Send funding.

The councillor is a elected representative and cabinet member for education and youth.

"Today's framework is in fact very adversarial. Our parents are more and more exhausted and anxious and fed up of fighting… Employee absence rates are extremely elevated at the moment," she explains.

"The current system is ineffective. It is broken. It fails to provide the best outcomes for students."

Demand for plans is now exceeding resources in the region. In a decade ago, the authority had about 3,400 pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Today there are over 10,000.

Consequently the Send deficit has been growing year-on-year, so that at the conclusion of the fiscal year it stands at more than £123m.

"These funds is really essentially intended for local services. {That would have|