The publication of the SEND White Paper signals long-overdue recognition that the current system is failing too many children and families.

Listen to this article

Reform is necessary. But reform alone is not enough.

If equal measures are applied to an unequal system, inequity does not disappear; it is redesigned. Without an explicit equity lens, we risk transporting existing disparities into a newly structured framework.

SEND does not operate in isolation. It sits at the intersection of disability, race, poverty, geography and access to advocacy. Yet in a document exceeding 50,000 words, intersectionality is referenced only once.

Because implementation, not intention, determines who benefits first, and who remains waiting, and which families suffer as a result.

We already know the current system pushes families into escalation. Parents win around 98 per cent of SEND tribunal appeals, and disputes have surged in recent years, creating significant backlogs. That is not a marginal issue; it signals systemic problems in early decision-making. When families must rely on legal challenges to secure support, the burden falls hardest on those with the least time, money and social capital to fight.

Reform must therefore address not just funding levels, but how implementation will correct structural disparities.

We frequently talk about “evidence-based reform.” But policy is shaped by the data we choose to measure. What is counted becomes what is funded. What is not counted becomes invisible.

If assessment timelines, placement decisions, exclusions, appeal rates and outcomes are not consistently disaggregated by ethnicity, deprivation and locality, reform will be guided by incomplete visibility.

Equity does not mean identical provision. It means recognising that children starting from unequal positions require differentiated support to achieve comparable outcomes.

We need transparent publication of implementation data broken down by ethnicity, deprivation and geography, and clear accountability mechanisms if disparities widen. We need legal safeguards and genuine co-design with the most affected families during the system transition.

As Patricia Daley, a lawyer and mother of 3 Black children with SEND, explains, “As a SEND parent with lived experience, and a lawyer representing in appeals, I witness both personally and professionally how the system can fail children whose needs exist at the intersection of gender, disability and race.

"It is profoundly concerning that intersectionality receives only brief acknowledgement within the white paper, without meaningful engagement with the realities faced by racialised and marginalised families. While investment is important, funding alone cannot resolve a framework that too often overlooks whose voices are heard, whose concerns are validated, and whose children are left waiting. Until reform confronts these structural inequities directly, we risk continuing to treat the pressure points of the system while leaving the deeper injustices shaping children’s experiences unchanged.”

Patricia and all parents of Black families deserve to be seen. Reform is an opportunity. But implementation is where families experience the reality.

If we redesign structures without directly confronting structural inequity, we will stabilise disparities rather than remove them.

Agnes Agyepong is the Founder and CEO of Global Black Maternal Health.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk

© LBC