Sheffield families unite to 'expose SEND crisis' with 'Every Pair Tells A Story' demonstration this Monday

The event by The SEND Sanctuary UK will see parents, carers and little ones will place pairs of children’s shoes in Sheffield City Centre.

The organisation says the display, between 10.30am and 12noon, will “represent every child across England who has been failed by the education system and their local authority.”

Attendees are invited to bring and donate a pair of children’s to the display, which were chosen to represent the shoes children would have worn in their school career if they were properly supported.

All shoes will reportedly be collected and donated to local charities following the event.

A statement reads: “This movement is not only for children missing from education. It stands for every child whose needs have been ignored, misunderstood or dismissed. It is for those isolated in classrooms without the right support, pushed into unsuitable mainstream schools, or waiting months and years for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) that are delayed, denied or disregarded.

“Every pair tells a story of exhaustion, heartbreak and families forced to fight for the very basics that every child deserves: education, inclusion and respect.”

SEND Sanctuary claims there are now over 7,000 children and young people in Sheffield with an EHCP, an increase of nearly 60 per cent since 2019.

Families report waiting 35 weeks or more for EHCP assessments, exceeding the 20-week legal limit.

And, in June, an Ofsted report found “widespread and/or systemic failings” in Sheffield’s services for children and young people with special educational needs, stating: “The quality of EHC plans in Sheffield is systemically weak and some of the information provided in EHC plans does not meet statutory guidance.”

“...the views of parents, carers, and children and young people are not routinely included.”

The impact is that “too many children” go to secondary schools that can’t support them until they are suspended, excluded, or are educated at home by their families or through costly alternative provision.

The ‘Every Pair Tells A Story’ movement represents this using children shoes as “the shoes that were never worn because they were never given the right school place.”

SEND Sanctuary says these issues reflect the wider national SEND crisis, with more than 600,000 children in England identified as having special educational needs and over 70,000 waiting for EHCPs to be processed.

“These shoes tell the stories of children who want to learn, play and be included,” said Aimee Bradley, founder of The SEND Sanctuary UK. “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.

“The government must listen to parents,” Aimee added. “We are not the problem. We are the evidence of the problem. Our children deserve more than words. They deserve real change, and they deserve it now.”

The demonstration is organised by The SEND Sanctuary UK in partnership with Let Us Learn Too and Let’s Make a Difference