Campaigners, parents and charities urge retention of legal rights for children with special educational needs

The warning came in a letter to The Guardian from signatories including broadcaster and campaigner Chris Packham, broadcaster and SEND parent Carrie Grant, and actor, campaigner and SEND parent Sally Phillips.

Other signatories include Tania Tirraoro, founder and co-director of Special Needs Jungle, Madeleine Cassidy CEO of IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice), Rachel Filmer, Founder of Send Rights Alliance, and Luke Clements, Cerebra professor of law and social justice at Leeds University.

The letter says: “We support the government’s ambitions for a more inclusive education system. Better teacher training, earlier identification of need, greater specialist expertise and a properly staffed workforce are all necessary. But none of these initiatives require children and families to surrender the legal protections they currently have.

“The proposals impact everything from how children and young people qualify for statutory support, what can be written into EHCPs, who decides the provision delivered, where children and young people are educated, how families can challenge poor decisions, and whether children and young people who cannot attend school can secure suitable education elsewhere.”

The letter argues that the Government's reforms are not simply a technical change to SEND law. “When provision is unsuitable or unavailable, legal rights are often the mechanism through which families can secure a suitable education for their child. A promise that the system will work better cannot substitute for an enforceable right when it does not.”