When the Supreme Court ruled [06 Apr 2017] ([2017] UKSC 28) [UKSC 2016/0155] IoWC v Platt - that “regularly” didn't mean “evenly spaced” or “sufficiently often” but instead “in accordance with the attendance rules” [they] agreed for the fining of UK parents, but erred in law, as [they] failed to take into account ALL children in Compulsory Education, especially SEND Children, who are continuously and REGULARLY left without Education or Schooling. "The Supreme Court unanimously allowed a Council’s appeal to fine a parent when they had removed their child a few days before the school holiday starting, on the basis that their child failed to attend 'regularly' declaring that the word ‘regularly’ means ‘by the rules prescribed by the school’. The Supreme Court failed to balance its ruling with regards to SEND Children Missing Education and Schooling, as the words “fails to attend regularly” in section 444(1)/444(1)(a) of the Education Act 1996 during term time relates to ALL Children. SEND Children are routinely and REGULARLY LEFT WITHOUT Education or Schooling because of the lack of resources, funding, and lack of school provisioning, even resorting to schools cutting their operating hours. SEND Children and Young People are also entitled to regular schooling and education under [Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014]. If the Government finds it acceptable to fine parents who take their children on holiday during term time, SEND Parents can claim damages against the DfE, their Local Authorities and Respective Schools for failing to educate and school their SEND Children during term. The Supreme Court failed to follow the 'rule of law' or the equal application of the law as [they] only favoured those children who were in school (mainstream) and who didn't attend 'regularly' for a short period of time. This favouring by the Supreme Court is a Direct and Indirect Discrimination under The Equality Act 2010 against SEND Children who are unlawfully forced to miss school or education REGULARLY by the lack of provision and or then having to be forced into a non-enabling environment, causing a health crisis. The Rule of Law is just that: the law applies equally to ALL. The lack of the rule of law can be because of negligence and or ignorance of the law itself. Therefore, the rule of law falls off the legislative radar because the government’s accountability factor is ineffective! The House of Commons (Petitions Committee) have twice rejected Janet Willicott's petition, taking five months to months to reply, stating, "We don't understand what 'rule of law' means, so please refer to the SEND Funding Petition instead and campaign that way..." This is NOT about SEND Funding; instead, it is about timely and early intervention and equality to include equity for ALL Children and Young People, especially disabled children and young people who are left without education and schooling for weeks, months, and years at a time. The European Court of Justice and or the European Court of Human Rights will need to be consulted on the validity of the Supreme Court's ruling, as The Education Act 1996 applies to ALL Children and Young People. I, Janet Willicott, mother, health professional and PhD student, have also been directly affected and impacted by many unlawful SEND due processes or outright negligence; I seek to implement a SEND Accountability Act to prevent further SEND Children and their families from being harmed by the UK's culture of nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance. The UK is currently ranked at 179th position from 193 UN Ratified Countries for Children's Rights. The UK was ranked 11th just before the country went into political turmoil. However, regretfully, the UK is now ranked 193rd in Domain 5 (Enabling Environment for Child Rights.) Domain 5 = [Non-discrimination, Best Interests, Respect, Enabling Legislation, Budget/resources, Collection and analysis of data and State-civil society cooperation] How is it that a once mighty nation is ranked last? COUNTRY: UNITED KINGDOM (Total UN Countries 193) • Kids Rights Index ranking: 179 • Health ranking: 41-44 • Life ranking: 28 • Education ranking: 22 • Protection ranking: 35-36 • Environment ranking: 190-193  https://www.kidsrights.org/research/kidsrights-index/ https://files.kidsrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/18142918/KidsRights-Index-2023-Report.pdf Please help me ensure that ALL Children are regularly educated, schooled, and provided for in mainschool, specialist school, college, special hubs, or via s19 (Eduction Act 1996), alternative education, and EOTISC. SEND Children and Young People with Complex Health, Disabilities, Rare Diseases, ASD, Mental Health, ADHD, PANS/PANDAS, Syndromes, and Learning Needs, etc, are part of (ALL CHILDREN). Enough is enough. Children are legally entitled to education suitable to meet their needs; The UK Government must act lawfully. Thank you

If this proposal is approved, primary and secondary school children in Midlothian will lose access to tuition on a musical instrument unless they’re studying at an SQA exam level. By making this proposal, the government are saying that the only children who deserve the chance to fall in love with the music are those with wealthy enough families to pay for it. We’ve already petitioned and protested against this once - and in February, the council dropped their proposal. Now, they’re trying to push it through a second time, and we need to come together to stop them. As someone who didn't discover their love of music until secondary school, this is deeply upsetting and frustrating. For me, and countless other young people, music has had a phenomenally positive impact. It helps young people build confidence, instil passion, form friendships, and - for some - their whole life will revolve around it.

“Mainstream is the way, just we need more support in terms of government finance to make sure those people with disabilities are supported... If you have people with disabilities in mainstream schools able bodied people will see that from when they’re young and not find it weird to see a disabled person in their work office and not know how to approach it.“ - Joanne Wacha Our experience of education shapes our entire lives. Inclusion in mainstream society right from the start is essential if Disabled people are going to take our place in society as equal citizens. Non-disabled people need to grow up with Disabled people as friends, classmates and family members if they are to understand that we are part of society and including us is not optional. It’s so important, the UN says all Disabled people have a human right to participate in mainstream education, with children learning in the same school and classroom. But right now government funding cuts mean for many Disabled pupils, including those with special educational needs, attending their local schools has been made impossible. Funding for the support Disabled children need to participate equally, such as one to one support, therapists and specialist equipment, has been hard hit by cuts. More and more Disabled pupils have found themselves shut out from mainstream schools, even pushed out of the education system altogether. If you want to live in a society which values difference, where Disabled people are included as equal citizens, please join our call to make sure inclusive education gets the funding it desperately needs. You can find out more about the campaign here: https://www.allfie.org.uk/campaigns/educate-dont-segregate/

We are a group of disabled students, who are taking legal action against their university over claims of disability discrimination. Venesha Rose has dyslexia, dyspraxia, cognitive delays, blind in the right eye, and has complex mobility. Penny Heinz has complex mobility and learning disabilities and is a care leaver who has had no education from the age of 10 years old. Natasha Gentles has dyslexia and mental ill health and suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. We have also launched a petition, which has already been signed by hundreds of supporters. The claims we have brought are focused on the failure of London South Bank University to provide the support needed by students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, blindness. Moreover, there is not any coordination between the independent provider and university lecturers working together, which disadvantages the student as their one to one provider may not be within their discipline, thus have no knowledge of the field. This makes it impossible for them to provide comprehensive support that is needed for a disabled student.

Derby City Council are planning a £220,000 cut in its specialist teaching service, which will almost exclusively affect its support for autistic children. At a time when autistic children are finding support difficult to come by, this is a massive blow to their education and their families, who are left to pick up the pieces. This cut represents a 25% loss in capacity, and must be stopped. We know that autistic children are three times more likely to be excluded than children without special needs. We know that school can be overwhelming and teaching staff often rely on training so that autistic pupils can flourish in their classrooms. The Government recognises that more needs to be done to support autistic children, in the classroom and out, and is including children and young people in their national autism strategy, released in November 2019. Instead of listening with open ears to what needs to change, Derby City Council are instead cutting jobs. Show Derby City Council that they must not make these cuts, and they must act to ensure they create an education system that works for autistic children and families.

For over 17 years Oasis Nursery has been an important feature of Melton. As one of the best performing nurseries in the local area, Ofsted rated it as ‘Outstanding’ in 2015. However, this outstanding Nursery is facing closure due to funding issues. According to the Board of Trustees, there isn’t enough demand to keep the nursery open. If enough of us sign this petition we can demonstrate to the Board that this Nursery is in demand and force them to reconsider closing it. Keeping this Nursery open will provide current children with the stability they deserve. I started this petition because I personally know how important this nursery has been to families in Melton and the surrounding areas. Three of my children went to Oasis, as well as my nieces and nephews. They all received the very best support from this Nursery.

James Peacock School in Ruddington is proposing to make a significant number of its most experienced and highly-qualified teaching assistants redundant. The head teacher claims that cuts are needed to save money but there are other ways to solve the problem. Nevertheless, the School’s governors are being asked to approve damaging plans to target teaching assistants. Making teaching assistants redundant will cause long-lasting harm to children, to the school and to the Ruddington community. Those whose jobs are at risk have firm roots in the village and are well-known to children and parents having worked in the school for many years. Teaching assistants provide vital support, supporting teachers in managing class behaviour as well as ensuring children with special needs receive additional care and attention. Reducing the number of teaching assistants would deprive children of support and restrict teachers' ability to teach effectively. Not only are there other ways of balancing the School’s books, but it is likely that schools funding will increase over the next year. The government schools minister for England, Nick Gibb, has said that school funding will be a priority for the autumn spending review. Now is not the time to get rid of teaching assistants who are indispensable for the children and teachers of James Peacock.

I study at the CLS college on Freeman st. Soon to be shut down in 3 months which is dramatically upsetting. So many pupils attend and they are very happy. Most people cannot attend a bigger setting. Unfortunately for some they cannot travel far or they can’t be in a bigger place. Helping in any way Would mean a lot for so many people and myself by fighting to keep it open. This place is a place that I actually can have my study as for many issues before hand. I can speak for many other students too. The college is so welcoming and very nice teachers and staff. There is plenty of students that everyone gets along with. We are a little community and would like as much help as we could possibly get. **In order to help, anyone that could contact this lady called Janet Goodwin. She can help fight, to keep it open. Her email is: [email protected] and her phone: Telephone: 07927494208.** No one should have too move to a different college because of the place shutting down. People are upset and would love it to stay open and to continue to work from there. Would be much appreciated if we can keep this place open and help give many students a place to learn and feel comfortable and get there qualifications they deserve. No one should have to loose there education because of something like this. Much help is appreciated. Students here are very keen to work and to build their futures. Moving to a different college will disturb to where they left off. This can lead them doing more time of college when it isn’t needed. Students have achieved so much and will continue doing so. Students feel safe and happy in the working environment, this is another reason why we are keen to keep this place open. We want to welcome more people and continue to keep this college open. Thank you very much for reading. Let’s keep this place open.

Lewes District Council have yet again taken the decision to use Cradle Hill CP School as a polling station and therefore the school will be closed, not just on the 2nd May but also on the 23rd May, equating to 13 hours of missed education, in a term that already has two bank holidays. Our children’s education is extremely important. Something that East Sussex County Council like to remind us with their Get a Grip Campaign and the fines they impose on parents and carers for taking their children out of school. 13 hours of “forced” missed education in one year is not acceptable, the knock-on effect is huge, especially with SATs coming up, children with special needs loosing precious time, those who rely on school dinners each day as their only hot meal and the extra financial burden to parents and carers. There are plenty of community buildings in the ward that could be utilised for this purpose ie Seaford Community Church and Seaford Children’s Centre. Let’s get this decision over ruled.

Stoborough Nursery has served the community of Stoborough and the surrounding areas for over 30 years. However, recently there has been tension between the Nursery and School regarding the rent of the land and buildings. We understand the need to increase the Nursery’s rent, but the proposed amount of £1750 a term (a 400% increase), coming into effect this September, is not reasonable or fair. This sum does not accurately reflect the Nursery’s use of the building and land, or take into account the financial investment the Nursery has made in improving and maintaining the Nursery building and garden over the last 30 years. The Nursery is a not-for-profit charity and paying this unreasonable sum would not be sustainable. The Nursery would have no option other than to shut its doors to the numerous families currently using its services, unfairly disrupting these children’s education.

This affects us all – if a child with additional needs or disabilities is unsupported in a classroom, it can put unreasonable demands on teachers' time, compromising the learning of all children. The numbers of children in Waltham Forest being REFUSED an assessment for an Education, Care and Health Plan (EHCP), which would provide them with ESSENTIAL EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT, has increased 3800%* in the period between 2015 and 2017. Waltham Forest reject more applications for Education Health and Care Plans than any other borough in London (except Southwark). This means hundreds of our children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are being left to struggle alone at school, often with DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES for the child and their whole family. We believe this practice is being carried out covertly to save the borough money in a time of austerity. Even those children "lucky" enough to get an EHCP, less than half (47%) got that delivered in the time period required by law. This delay means our children are being left for extended periods without the support that is vital for them to thrive and succeed in school. This can often lead to school refusal, suspensions and have a detrimental impact on both the child’s education and their mental health. In a time of austerity and education budget cuts, children with additional needs are often the ones who suffer the most. Taking away support that allows them to access an education is denying them their basic legal and human rights. Families of children with additional educational needs and disabilities in Waltham Forest are also routinely ignored by services, such as officials at the Disability Enablement Service. We often find it excessively difficult to get appointments with professionals, such as speech therapists, occupational therapists and paediatricians. Local community child mental health services are still telling parents to come back when their child is self harming or suicidal. Our families are still experiencing practices that were exposed by BBC Panorama last year. Families are made even more fearful for their children’s future by the fact Waltham Forest has a forecasted shortfall of £3.8 million by 31 March 2020 in their high needs education pot. The Education Health and Care Plan processes in Waltham Forest are unclear and inconsistent. They include practices we believe are unlawful under the Children and Families Act 2014. This includes refusing to assess children when there is an indication of need, refusing to name schools on some EHCPs, and the still common belief that schools have to spend £6000 before they can apply for a Plan. It feels like Waltham Forest Council has gone to war with SEND families, making our children a scapegoat for tightening budgets. In Richmond-Upon-Thames, local councillors have launched a campaign to fight back against the cuts. They are working WITH parents, and indeed the whole community, to fight austerity. They have launched petitions, letter writing campaigns and pulled together a coalition of local MPs to raise questions in Parliament. Waltham Forest have remained silent. Our Council's solution to the cuts is to refuse to grant support to our most vulnerable children. Many of us are being forced through distressing court battles with the Council. Although between 80-95% of parents win these cases, it comes with huge emotional fallout for our families, and unnecessary cost to the taxpayer. Many more will not be able to face the stress of going to court, or simply do not have the resources to do so. These children are the ones who are lost to the system completely. Tell Waltham Forest Council to stop fighting us. Call on them to: 1. Hold a scrutiny committee on the policies regarding Education Health and Care Plans to ensure they are fair, equitable and lawful. 2. Significantly improve the numbers of Education Health and Care Plans which are issued within the 20 week deadline 3. Stop refusing vital support for children with a clear need and improve access to vital services 4. Launch a SEND Funding Crisis campaign, which will help the Council access the funds that are so desperately needed to support our children The SEND crisis effects everyone. If your child is in a classroom with an unsupported SEND child, their education is also compromised because the teacher's time is stretched too thinly. Even if you aren't a parent, but a taxpayer, your money is being wasted in costly and unnecessary court cases that the Council mostly loses. It doesn't have to be like this. Instead of blocking vital support and fighting with parents, Waltham Forest Council could join with us to highlight the catastrophic impacts of education cuts and find ways to tackle special educational needs budget deficits. They could emulate councillors in other boroughs who are showing what is possible. We must work together to ensure that the most vulnerable children in Waltham Forest get access to the support they need. * Figures are based on stats from the Department of Education between 2015 - 2017. At time of writing 2018 figures had not been released

As a mum with a child in a primary school in Penarth, I am horrified to learn about the desperate measures our schools are having to take given this funding crisis. In the Penarth Cluster of schools, head teachers are cleaning school facilities at weekends to earn rent; there are redundancies and teachers have to take on other paid work. At least one local school’s governing body is looking into the possibility of closing on Friday afternoons which would create difficulties for working parents and teachers. Next, we hear our children’s health and safety may be at risk. I am shocked at the unfair and outdated formula used for school funding which seems fundamentally against The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, "A more equal Wales - where everyone has an equal chance whatever their background". School funding is in crisis across Wales, yet the Welsh Government is expecting the introduction of a new curriculum; a new additional learning needs bill and for schools to produce 1 million Welsh speakers. We already know that children in Wales achieve lower PISA scores than children anywhere else in the UK and have done for several years. But it's not just about academic achievement - our schools should be able to provide all-round education and support for all of our children to thrive.