Getting it right in the early years
The Government must ensure that the childcare expansion doesn’t further exclude children with SEND from early years settings.
Policy and advocacy
Kids has over 50 years on-the-ground experience working alongside children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and their families, providing support, advice and information.
Our ambition
Working with children and young people of all disabilities from birth to the age of 25, we hear the same story of hard-to-access, inconsistent and often inadequate support services. Stark, structural inequalities of access, opportunity and outcome mean that rights are not being realised. Voices, knowledge and expertise are marginalised or ignored.
This is why policy and advocacy are a core part of Kids work.
Our ambition is for every child or young person with SEND to meet their own potential. We believe that the right support and a range of opportunities need to be in place to ensure that every individual can thrive.
We turn practical expertise and trusted relationships with families into advocacy. By putting the voice of those with lived experience at the heart of driving essential systemic change, better access to services, consistency and outcomes are achievable.
The changes we want to see
Our Manifesto for Change outlines five clear areas where Government action is needed in order to transform the lives of disabled children and young people.
Navigating a complex system
We recommend that the Government provides a Navigator to every family with a disabled child.
Getting the right help into adulthood
The Government must step up and demonstrate action on a national level to fix the disjointed transition support system.
Making community provision and care and support work
Every child with SEND should be able to access activities in the community in the same way as other children.
Let us shape the decisions that affect us
Every local authority should ensure participation of young disabled people in local decisions that affect them becomes routine.
Our policy solutions
Our policy solutions briefing outlines the national SEND landscape, the impact of waiting lists, and Kids’ analysis of the short-term and long-term approaches needed to address SEND system failures, along with two immediate policy solutions.
National Partnerships
We collaborate widely to amplify the voices of children and young people with SEND, directly advocating to MPs, advisers and service commissioners.
To effectively champion the voices of those we work with, we play an active role in national partnership, as part of:
- The Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) as a Steering Group member
- The national SEND stakeholder group convened by the Council for Disabled Children (CDC)
- The Digital Services Consortium as a co-Chair
- The Early Education and Childcare Coalition
- The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG)
Jimmy says
“Kids has given me a chance to not only speak about me, my experiences but also to represent the views of other young people with disabilities.
“I have been involved in helping OFSTED and CQC redesign their inspection framework, helping Kids develop their future plans and strategy and speaking to the SEND All Party Parliamentary Group about my experiences during lockdown.
“I use an eye gazer to communicate and this can be a barrier but Kids works with me to ensure my voice can be heard.”
Jimmy, 24
News stories
News
25 Oct 2024
How can the autumn budget support SEND reform
If every child matters, then money must be found to make the rights of disabled children a reality.
CEO blog post
8 Jul 2024
Reflections on the new government and the broken SEND system
Kids Chief Executive Katie Ghose's thoughts on long-term opportunities and immediate fixes
News
2 May 2024
Kids releases revealing report: On the Cliff Edge
Our report documents the experience of young people with SEND as they move from childhood into adulthood.
Early years
19 Mar 2024
Only 6% of local authorities offer enough SEND childcare
Coram Family and Childcare released the Childcare Survey 2024 results. Read our response.
Early years
6 Mar 2024
Our response to the Spring Budget – 2024
Once again over 1 in 10 of the UK’s children have gone unseen and unheard. Read our response to the Spring Budget.
News
8 Feb 2024
Our response to the Disability Action Plan
The Government has released its long-awaited Disability Action Plan. Read our response.
Policy
11 Oct 2023
Kids Manifesto for Change
Find out where Government action is needed to transform the lives of disabled children and young people.
Early years
20 Jul 2023
Our vision for early years and SEND
We believe it’s vital that babies and young children with SEND have access to quality early years support. Read more.
Policy
2 Mar 2023
Our response to the SEND Improvement Plan
The Government's Plan does not begin to match up to the scale of the challenges. Read our full response.
Policy
17 Nov 2022
Autumn Statement comment from Kids Chief Executive, Katie Ghose
The Government’s decision to increase benefits in line with inflation will provide some relief to families of disabled children currently struggling to cover daily costs.
Policy
13 Oct 2022
‘Spend pennies now to save pounds later’
Kids CEO Katie Ghose shares three ways the charity sector can adapt to unprecedented economic changes.
Policy
25 Jul 2022
Kids Responds to SEND Review
The current education and support system for children and young people with SEND does not work. The Government needs to build on the SEND reforms of 2014, but this time reforms should be resourced, implemented and enforced.
Policy
7 Apr 2022
SEND Review: learning from children, young people and their families
Chief Executive Katie Ghose reflects on the Government's SEND review, identifying three areas of interest for Kids.
Policy
19 Oct 2021
Spending Review – Opinion piece from Kids Chief Executive, Katie Ghose
Making people’s lives better ‘Making people’s lives better’ – is the firm commitment from the Chancellor, as the government reviews how they are going to spend the budget for the…
Policy
24 Aug 2021
Locked Out – opinion piece from Kids Chief Executive Katie Ghose
Delivering services during the pandemic A stark feature of Covid lockdown measures was the extent to which for many of us living, working and socialising online became ‘the new normal’….