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Parents delivered a stark message to Dudley's children's services with a poignant protest on the council house steps. Families teamed up with organisations dedicated to young people with special educational needs or disability (SEND) for Every Pair Tells a Story on November 3. During the protest, children's shoes were put on display to represent every child failed by the educational system. Read more: 'Discriminative' home-to-school transport cuts to be discussed Read more: Council chief says £2.7m new school overspend will not hit taxpayers Campaigners say the shoes, which had labels telling the stories of their owners, not only represent children failed by the system but also those whose needs have been ignored, misunderstood or dismissed. Aimee Bradley, founder of The SEND Sanctuary UK, one of the groups which organised the nationwide protest, said: "These shoes tell the stories of children who want to learn, play and be included, no child should be left behind because the system decided their needs were too complex or too inconvenient. "This is about every child failed by broken promises and endless red tape." Campaigners say there are 4,000 children in Dudley borough with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) and families regularly report waiting 25 to 35 weeks for EHCP assessments, far exceeding the legal 20-week timeframe. They added watchdogs regularly uphold complaints against the authority. Councillor Wayne Little, Dudley cabinet Member for children's services and education, said: "Dudley Council is committed to providing the best possible education for all our children and young people. "There has been a 113 per cent growth since 2019 in Education Health Care Plans in Dudley, with continued investment into SEND places locally using the Unicorn Centre, SEND Units and Resource bases to further provide for children and young people with additional needs. "Although we work tirelessly to process every assessment as promptly as possible, every child and young person has unique needs, and our focus remains on putting the right support pathways in place. "During the last financial year, we received 87 complaints relating to SEND and, although less than half were upheld, we continue to work closely with families and providers to find the most appropriate support that we can." A Dudley mother of a six-year-old with multiple issues including ADHD said at the protest: "For every pair of shoes here there are probably five or six children that haven't been heard, it is important we get listened to." The mother, who wished to remain anonymous, added: "Since he was 18 months old he has been passed from health visitor to GP, nobody would listen to me. "He masks at school but when he gets home there are meltdowns, he gets physical, smashes the house, throws things and hurts me." Another mother, who also asked to remain anonymous, said her 10-year-old had been diagnosed with social, emotional and mental health problems. She said: "He has been left in a school that can't meet his needs, he is on a part-time timetable and is missing out on everything his peers get – he deserves an education. Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here "There isn't enough money to go around, teachers are stressed and kids are suffering. "Budgets aren't there for the local authority to dish out to every child, central government needs to do better; they need to put our children first."
