Swindon families unite to expose the SEND crisis

On Monday 3 November families across Swindon came together as part of Every Pair Tells a Story, a powerful national movement organised by The SEND Sanctuary UK.

The symbolic event took place outside Swindon Borough Council’s Civic Offices, where 80 pairs of children’s shoes were displayed to represent every child in Swindon who have been failed by the education system and their local authority.

The event was part of a national silent protest. Families across 92 local authority areas in England and Scotland took part. At exactly 10:30 am, parents, carers and children gathered outside their local authority buildings to lay out rows of children’s shoes. Each pair represents a child who has been failed by the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.

For some, these shoes were never worn because the child was never given a school place. For others, they were worn for only a few weeks before everything fell apart. They symbolise children who have been denied education through delayed plans, lack of support, exclusion, or isolation within unsuitable settings.

Every pair tells a story of a family fighting to be heard. It is a call for change, accountability and compassion.

Danielle Brown-Kelly, Director for Send Community Connected in Swindon has two children aged 15 and 11 who are both diagnosed with autism. They were given mainstream placements despite the schools not meeting their needs.

Danielle said: “My children have been failed by the system, they’re both home educated at the moment. I’ve been forced to home educate. I ran a business for 8 years; I had to give that up. The specialist schools are full, children are being forced into mainstream, and they don’t fit there.

“This protest is a way, not only to raise awareness but to have our voices heard. We are often told that we’re the problem.

“Send Community Connected is a big support for parents. It’s not council led, its parents sharing tips, advice, coming together. We have to create these groups because nobody’s doing it for us.”

Hayley Conduit has been forced into home educating her 11-year-old. She said: “He’s never had an appropriate education. He’s tried mainstream, failed drastically. He had a forced second mainstream placement just to ‘prove’ it wouldn’t work. Within three months we were told they couldn’t meet need.

“He’s been at home on EOTAS (Education Other Than At School) for three years. A lot of parents don’t get EOTAS, we fought for it and we got it, but it doesn’t replicate a school placement. It doesn’t provide him with the social opportunities that he needs. Academically it’s not providing him with the education he’s intitled too.”

This national event follows the success of The Fight for Ordinary, a major rally held in London earlier this year by The SEND Sanctuary UK in partnership with the Disabled Children’s Partnership. More than 800 parents and young people attended, joined by Sir Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Helen Hayes MP, Chair of the Education Select Committee. Both MPs pledged their support for urgent reform and recognition of the struggles faced by families navigating a broken SEND system.

Across the country, parents continue to battle an education system that too often fails to meet its legal obligations:

• More than 600,000 children in England have identified special educational needs.
• Over 70,000 are waiting for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) to be processed.
• Thousands more have been left without any school place at all.

These figures represent real children, real families, and real heartbreak. Many parents have been forced to give up their jobs to educate their children at home after years of fighting for help that never came.

Aimee Bradley, founder of The SEND Sanctuary UK, said: “This is not just about missing education, it is about the loss of childhoods, opportunities and hope. Every pair of shoes is a child’s story, and together they form a message too powerful to ignore. We are standing for every child who has been left behind.”

As the Government prepares to roll out its SEND and Alternative Provision reforms, parents are making it clear that they will not be silenced. They are demanding genuine change that listens to families, ends the postcode lottery in provision, and restores trust in a system that has been failing children for too long.

Aimee said: “The Government must listen to parents. We are not the problem. We are the evidence of the problem. Our children deserve more than words. They deserve action, fairness and a future.”

After each event, all shoes will be collected by volunteers, sorted for donation, and distributed to local charities supporting children and families. No shoes will be left behind.