We also publish regular news stories and updates on money matters to make sure parent carers stay up-to-date. We’re excited to be relaunching our popular newsletter, What’s new benefits special, as part of our regular weekly edition.
The statistics and quotes in this article come from an internal evaluation of our Family Finances programme in 2025/26. To find out more, email [email protected]
The government has announced plans to ban social media platforms from offering services to under-16s as part of a wider package of online safety measures.
The proposed changes are expected to be brought before parliament later this year. They could come into force from Spring 2027.
Which platforms are affected?
According to the government, the proposed ban would apply to user-to-user social media platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. These platforms allow users to post content and use algorithms to determine what material users see.
The ban will not include messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
The government says the measures are designed to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content and features, including algorithm-driven feeds, stranger contact, livestreaming and other social interaction tools.
What would children still be able to access?
Based on information the government has shared so far, children would still be able to access:
Educational websites and learning platforms.
Streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Disney+.
Messaging services including WhatsApp and Signal.
Games and gaming platforms, unless the government announces further restrictions.
Apps used for communication, accessibility and assistive technology.
Most websites and online services that are not classified as social media.
Other proposed measures
The social media ban is part of a wider package of online safety proposals. The government is also proposing:
Restrictions on livestreaming for under-16s.
Additional protections to prevent strangers contacting children online.
Some protections extending to gaming platforms.
Restrictions on AI “romantic companion” chatbots for under-18s.
Share your views as a parent carer
We’d love to hear your views on what you think of the proposed ban. A discussion is already underway in our private Facebook group – please join in!
Many families of disabled and neurodivergent children tell us that screens and online platforms can be more than a source of entertainment. For some children and young people, they support communication, learning, connection, routine, special interests and emotional regulation. What benefits of social media do you think we shouldn’t lose sight of?
We also know that many parent carers worry about social media and child safety. Disabled children can be more at risk than their peers from predatory behaviour. There are also widespread concerns about the addictive nature of social media and the prevalence of inappropriate and unregulated content. Will a social media ban make you feel less worried about your child using the internet?
The government says it intends to bring the legislation before parliament before Christmas, with implementation expected in Spring 2027.
It will publish further details about the ban in July. For now, several details remain unclear, including:
How age checks would work in practice
Whether any exemptions will apply to child-focused services such as YouTube Kids.
How the rules will affect children who rely on online communities for support, learning or connection such as home-educated children.
What guidance will be provided to families .
We will continue to update families as more information becomes available.
This advice applies in Wales only.
We’re delighted to be launching Stronger Futures, a new project supporting families of disabled children and children with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) across Denbighshire and Wrexham.
The one-year programme is funded by the Neumark Foundation. Through it, we’ll offer practical support, information and advice to parent carers of children and young people aged 0 to 25, including those awaiting a diagnosis.
The support includes:
One to one appointments with a specialist Parent Adviser, with flexible support offered by phone, email, online and in-person.
Help with benefits and finances, including filling out forms.
Guidance on education, health and related issues
Friendly Coffee & Chat drop-in sessions with other parent carers
Providing information about local services and where to find further support.
Why the support is needed
We know that many families spend a huge amount of time trying to work out what support is available. Chasing information, navigating complicated health and benefit systems.
The Stronger Futures programme will offer support tailored to each family’s circumstances, whether they are yet to receive a diagnosis or are many years into their journey.
The project builds on the success of our Claiming with Confidence programme. Claiming with Confidence ran for one year in neighbouring Conwy and Gwynedd. It helped families better understand the benefits system and feel more confident in securing support.
In that programme:
100% felt better informed about their rights to benefits.
100% felt more confident in their ability to claim benefits.
“Families of disabled and additional needs children face enormous challenges every day. We know that many are struggling financially and often feel isolated. Our Stronger Futures project will support families directly by giving trusted information and advice, as well as bringing families together through community events.
“Our team in North Wales have many years of experience in supporting local families and building local partnerships. We know we can make a real difference to those most in need. We are incredibly grateful to the Neumark Foundation for funding this project and helping us support more families in North Wales.”
The Neumark Foundation works with charities to improve the welfare and quality of life of children and young people across North Wales.
Rebecca Neumark, Chief Executive of the Neumark Foundation, said:
“Families of disabled children and young people can face many challenges in accessing the support and information they need. We are proud to support Stronger Futures, which will provide practical help, trusted advice and opportunities for families to connect with others who understand their experiences. We hope this partnership with Contact Cymru will make a meaningful difference to families across Denbighshire and Wrexham.”
Book an appointment today
Families can refer themselves for an appointment with a Parent Adviser directly. Professionals are also welcome to signpost families to our dedicated booking page.
A government consultation is asking unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children what extra support you need to work.
Make Work Pay seeks to find out whether carers need further help to balance paid work with caring responsibilities.
The consultation includes reviewing unpaid carer’s leave, introduced in 2024, and consideration of a new paid carer’s leave alongside a “right to return” to work after a period of intensive caring. It also seeks views on a proposed Hugh’s Law. This would provide financial support and leave in the days and weeks following a child’s diagnosis of a serious illness.
The consultation asks for views on:
The information and guidance currently available to support unpaid carers.
Any further support that’s needed.
Forms of support that would be helpful for both unpaid carers and parents with a seriously ill child.
Lord Alton asked how the government’s Family Help programme would protect disabled children’s human rights and address the problems the Law Commission identified.
Watch the exchange below.
Strong, enforceable legal duties needed
Amanda Elliot, health and social care lead for Contact, said:
“We are grateful to the committee for putting this question to the minister. So far we have seen little commitment to reforming the legal framework for disabled children. These reforms are vital to ensure families get the right support free of parent blame.
“While the minister acknowledged parents regularly face judgement when asking for help, we are disappointed that he believes the Family Help programme will deliver a better deal for families. Family Help is positive, but it is no substitute for legal reform. There’s no evidence Family Help will make the law clearer, simpler, and fairer for our families. Only strong, enforceable legal duties will ensure disabled children get the help they are entitled to.”
When families ask for help, they are often met with a safeguarding response instead of support tailored to their child’s needs. Others are denied help altogether or see hard‑won direct payments clawed back because they cannot find suitably-trained personal assistants. Many end up paying for essential care themselves.
The Law Commission’s 2025 report identified these long‑standing problems. It set out 40 recommendations to fix the legal framework, including:
A single duty to meet the eligible social care needs of disabled children, based on national eligibility criteria.
New statutory guidance for local authorities and families.
A requirement that people assessing disabled children should have ‘the skills, knowledge and competence” to do so.
Disabled children’s social care reform still an afterthought
Despite the Law Commission’s clear blueprint for reform, disabled children and their families remain a policy afterthought:
Disabled children and the Law Commission’s findings are missing from the government’s 2026–2029 Implementation Plan for children’s social care reform.
The SEND White Paper barely mentions disabled children’s social care. Children need support outside as well as inside school to thrive and feel included.
In his interim response, to the Law Commission, the Minister avoided committing to legal reform. He suggested that Family Help was already “delivering many of the [commission’s] intended outcomes.”
What the Minister said to the Joint Human Rights Committee
In answer to questioning by the committee, the Minister said:
Family Help covers statutory provision including Section 17 of the Children Act.
Targeted early help was also statutory, though the form it takes is “fairly loose” and varies between areas.
Families of disabled children are too often met with a child protection response, leaving parents feeling judged rather than helped.
The Government’s £2.4 billion Families First programme, and structural changes intended to separate Family Help from child protection, would make support “non‑stigmatising and genuinely helpful” for most families.
Officials pointed to examples of good practice in pathfinder areas such as Wolverhampton, which they said were co‑designed with families.
What’s happening in Wolverhampton?
The Minister cited Wolverhampton as an example of good practice in disabled children’s social care. Wolverhampton is a Families First programme first wave pathfinder. Its SEND offer includes a sensory hub for children aged 0–five and parent drop‑ins.
We have written to the Minister to ask for more information on the pathfinder model, how it’s helping families with disabled children in the area, and the inclusion of parents in its design.
Help us keep up the pressure
Join us in calling on the government to accept the Law Commission’s proposals in full and without delay.
The update reflects a change in free school meals eligibility. This in turn determines eligibility for school transport for children from low-income households.
The guidance continues to recognise eligibility for children who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of special educational needs or disability (SEND), or mobility problems. It also continues to require councils to consider whether it is reasonable to expect a parent to accompany the child and whether the child’s individual needs make transport necessary.
The distance that counts as too far is lower for over eights from low-income households than for over eights from other households. Secondary school-aged children from low-income households can get free school transport to one of the nearest three suitable schools.
The definition of a low-income household is the same as that used for free school meals. Children currently get free school meals if their parents get Universal Credit and have earnings below a certain threshold.
What is changing?
From September 2026, all children from households getting Universal Credit will qualify for free school meals, regardless of parental earnings.
However, this won’t mean that all these children get free school transport.
Instead, children from low-income households will continue to get free school transport only if their parents get Universal Credit and earn below the threshold. (This is called the “targeted group” for free school meals purposes, as opposed to the “expanded group” of all Universal Credit claimants).
Again, eligibility for children with SEND has not changed.
We’re on the lookout for volunteers to help our By Your Side team provide advice and information to families with children at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Having a child in hospital can be overwhelmingly stressful for parent carers. As well as emotional strain, families often face a raft of practical challenges and left feeling confused by the medical system and unsure where to turn for help. They can also struggle under increased financial pressure as they reduce work hours to spend more time with their child.
Contact’s By Your Side team currently offer support in 5 UK hospitals to any family who have a child with health needs, guiding them through the maze of medical departments and jargon they face and discussing any issues or challenges they face including benefits, education, social care or how to find local support groups.
Families can drop by our By Your Side stand with no appointment needed, and ward visits are also possible if that suits the family better.
We now have an opportunity for volunteers to help at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on Wednesdays during term time, 9am-2pm.
Want to find out more?
If this is something you might be interested in please email [email protected] for more information about this exciting and rewarding voluntary role.
On Tuesday 23 June, Contact arranged a Ministerial meeting for parent carers to share their experiences with Baroness Levitt and Ministry of Justice officials. We are really pleased with how engaged and committed the Minister is to solving this which the potential benefit are releasing 100s millions of pounds to disable young people We pay tribute to Andrew Turner for his tireless work and all the parent carers we have stood with on getting us to this point
In a sign that our Child Trust Fund campaign’s momentum is not easing up, even more providers are now allowing young disabled people to access their savings without a costly and lengthy court process.
Recently Nationwide, Santander, Coventry Bank and Co-Operative Bank are now offering a route that safeguards money but allows easier access to savings. But not all providers do this – HSBC doesn’t – so there is an unfairness in the system.
That’s why we continue to lobby government to change the law to make it easier for families to access Child Trust Funds.
What’s the issue?
If a child lacks mental capacity when they turn 18, they won’t be able to control any savings held in a Child Trust Fund. But their parents will find it difficult to access these funds too.
The Court of Protection process in particular is lengthy and costs money. We estimate more than 80,000 disabled young people are at risk of being locked out of £210 million of savings.
Providers adopting industry process
We want the government to increase the scope of the DWP appointee scheme to cover Child Trust Funds and Junior ISAs up to at least £5,000. Currently, the law only allows appointees to manage benefit payments, but not savings accounts.
Alternatively, the government could introduce a simplified small payment scheme similar to the “industry process”. Using the industry process, providers review claims on a case-by-case basis. As it closely mirrors the DWP appointee scheme paperwork requirements, parents can use documents they already have.
It is this process we have successfully encouraged more Child Trust Fund providers to adopt through our campaigning. We are delighted that Nationwide, Santander, Coventry Bank and Co-Operative Bank are offering young disabled people easier access to their savings.
Talk to your provider
Our overriding message to families worried about accessing your child’s savings: talk to your provider.
Ask them about using the industry process / the appointee scheme. If you don’t get anywhere the first time you ask, persist. You can also ask to speak to the provider’s “maturity team”.
A major new government plan to reform children’s social care risks failing disabled children and their families yet again, Contact is warning.
Delivering the children’s social care reset sets out how councils should transform children’s social care from 2026-29. The 60‑page document focuses heavily on safeguarding, child protection, Family Help (see below), children in care and the social care workforce. But disabled children barely get a mention.
Amanda Elliot, Contact’s health and social care lead, says families will be disappointed and frustrated to see their needs overlooked once more:
“The minister is billing this as ‘whole‑system reform’, but reform is not ‘whole’ if it disregards disabled children. The plan makes no reference to the Law Commission’s excellent proposals for reforming disabled children’s social care. What families need is practical support at home, respite care, equipment and short breaks – not fruitless safeguarding assessments or advice on how to become more ‘resilient’.
“Nor is it clear how any of this links to the ongoing reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). If the government wants schools to be more inclusive and fewer families to need education, health and care (EHC) plans, then families must get timely, effective support outside school as well as inside it. That will not happen while disabled children’s social care remains punitive, outdated, fragmented, and legally unclear.”
About the government’s new plan
The Implementation Plan 2026–2029 is the government’s roadmap for how councils must change children’s social care over the next three years. It mainly focuses on safeguarding and children in care, with very little on disabled children’s social care.
What the guidance covers:
Family Help rollout, replacing early help and Child in Need with one support offer.
New child protection arrangements and multi‑agency working.
Regional Care Cooperatives to improve children’s home sufficiency.
Support for kinship carers.
Improving recruitment and training of social workers.
What’s missing for disabled children:
A dedicated disabled children’s workstream.
A clear link to SEND reforms.
Any mention of the Law Commission’s proposals.
No commitments on short breaks or practical support in the home – services families say they need most.
Action on safeguarding misuse, despite evidence that disability‑related needs are still being treated as parenting concerns.
What the Law Commission has proposed
In September 2025, the Law Commission published 40 recommendations to fix disabled children’s social care. These include:
A single statutory duty to assess disabled children’s social care needs.
A single duty to meet eligible needs, based on national criteria.
New statutory guidance for councils and families.
A requirement that assessors have the skills, knowledge and competence to assess disabled children.
A duty enabling parent carers to request an assessment for themselves.
What has happened since?
Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister avoided committing to reform in his interim response to the Commission in March. He also claimed the government’s Family Help programme was “already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes” of the Law Commission’s report.
Contact has raised concerns that the government may be stalling reform, including in Community Care magazine. Leading barrister Alex Ruck Keene, in a recent blog, has argued that Family Help is being used to mask councils’ existing legal duties to support disabled children, debunking the myth that this support is “non‑statutory” or optional.
The government will publish its final response to the Law Commission on 16 September.
Contact is cautioning against reducing financial support for severely disabled young people to address the rising numbers of young people out of work.
The independent Milburn Review’s interim report, published today, has revealed one million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). Alongside that the report highlights increasing numbers of young people receiving health and disability-related benefits. This includes the Universal Credit health element.
The report argues that too many young people are being left without the right support to move towards education or employment where appropriate. Wider barriers facing young people include poor mental health support, school absence, lack of suitable jobs and difficulties during transition to adulthood.
Importantly, the report does not currently recommend removing the Universal Credit health element from disabled young people under 22. However, the review does discuss concerns about young people becoming trapped out of work. It suggests that the government should look further at more how disabled young people can be better supported into employment, including the possibility of expecting all but the most severely disabled Universal Credit claimants to take part in “support conversations” with DWP staff.
It is expected to continue looking at the benefits system as part of its final recommendations later this year. Contact will continue to campaign against any proposal that the health element be removed for under 22s.
Una Summerson, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Contact, says:
“Many disabled young people receiving the Universal Credit health element are not simply ‘economically inactive’. Many are already in education, life-skills programmes, volunteering, social care provision or supported work. All while managing significant disabilities and health conditions. Contact is concerned that current data fails to properly recognise these forms of participation. As a result severely disabled young people risk being wrongly drawn into policies aimed at reducing NEET figures.
“We urge the Milburn Review not to unintentionally push severely disabled young people further away from education and employment by reducing the financial support that helps them participate. For many families, the transition from child to adult benefits already creates a substantial financial cliff edge. This is despite no reduction in care needs. Further cuts risk pushing disabled young people deeper into poverty, while shifting additional pressure and costs onto family carers and overstretched public services.”
What Contact wants to see
Contact supports better opportunities and personalised employment support for disabled young people who can and want to work.
Ensuring disabled young people can stay in education would be one of the best ways of assisting them into employment. But the existing rules mean that some disabled young people cannot claim Universal Credit if they remain in education. This is counter-productive, leading to some disabled young people abandoning education. These rules need to be revised.
Need advice or support?
Many families may feel worried by some of the discussion around disability benefits and economic inactivity. We want to reassure families that the report announces no immediate changes to benefits.
Families across the UK are celebrating after a milestone week in the Contact Weekly Lottery: over 100 lucky winners took home a cash prize in a single draw for the very first time!
Contact’s charity lottery costs £1 a week to play and gives supporters the chance to win cash prizes every Friday – including the £10,000 jackpot – while helping fund Contact’s vital work.
Kaya Korablina, Supporter Relations Officer at Contact, said:
“Reaching 100 winners in a single draw is an incredible milestone for the Contact Weekly Lottery. And every one of these players helps us be there for more families with disabled children who are going through a really difficult time right now.
I have the amazing job of calling our jackpot winners to tell them they’ve won – it makes my day every time!”
Kaya recently spoke to Claire from Stoke-on-Trent after landing the £1,000 prize, who said:
“I joined the lottery as a way to give something back to a cause that supports families like mine.
I never thought I’d get a Friday phone call like that, but here we are!
I’ve been playing for about a year after discovering Contact through a local SEN community group and attending some of their online workshops, which were incredibly helpful.”
“I love seeing Contact’s success stories on social media – it’s great to be part of a community supporting parent carers of disabled children.
I’d say to anyone thinking of joining – you’ll be helping UK families, you’ve got a weekly chance of winning, and it costs less than a bag of Haribo… and it’s better for your teeth!”
Fancy swapping your Haribo for the Contact Lottery? Sign up today!
For just £1 a week you’ll enter our weekly draw for a chance to win up to £10,000 every Friday.
Every ticket sold helps fund Contact’s free expert advice and support for families with disabled children.
We’ve had thousands of winners since launching our lottery in 2020. And the best part? The majority of our £1,000 and £10,000 winners have been parent carers themselves, who play the lottery to support other families like theirs.
The review is led by Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms. It’s looking at how PIP works, who qualifies, and whether the current system is fair and effective for disabled people.
Contact has submitted evidence to the review highlighting serious concerns about the current PIP assessment process and the growing financial pressures facing families with disabled young people.
Why this matters for families
PIP helps disabled adults with the extra costs of disability, including transport, equipment, support needs and everyday living costs. It can also act as a gateway to other vital support, such carers benefits, Blue Badges and Motability vehicles.
Many families already face a significant financial cliff-edge when a disabled young person moves from childhood benefits into adulthood. So it is vital that PIP helps families meet the real extra costs of disability and supports disabled people to live ordinary lives with dignity, independence and security.
What we said in our submission
In our submission, we stressed that:
PIP must remain a cash benefit.
The current assessment process is causing distress and mistrust among claimants.
The current system does not properly reflect the experiences of people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities, autism or fluctuating conditions.
Families often experience inaccessible processes, poor communication and inaccurate assessments.
Disabled people should not be demonised in public debate about claiming disability benefits.
“The process leaves families traumatised”
Families contacting our helpline regularly describe the PIP assessment process as exhausting, stressful and adversarial.
We submitted evidence to the review of parent carers reporting:
Assessors who lack understanding of their child’s condition and their needs.
Reports containing inaccuracies.
Assessments failing to reflect fluctuating conditions or hidden disabilities.
Severe anxiety linked to attending face to face assessments.
We also highlighted the extremely high success rate for PIP appeals, which shows the current system is not working effectively.
Contact’s calls for change
We are calling for:
A more person-centred assessment process that properly reflects people’s real day-to-day experiences.
Better recognition of mental health conditions, neurodiversity, fluctuating conditions and the impact of supervision and night-time care.
Greater flexibility and accessibility in assessments, including giving claimants choice over face-to-face, telephone, video or paper-based assessments.
Fewer unnecessary reassessments for people with lifelong conditions unlikely to improve.
Improved training and understanding among assessors.
More detailed and transparent decision-making.
Properly funded advice and advocacy services to help families navigate the system.
Stronger safeguards to ensure disabled people are treated with dignity and respect throughout the process.
The public narrative must stop framing disability benefits as a barrier to work. Many disabled young people rely on PIP to access education, training, volunteering and employment opportunities.
You can request alternative formats by emailing [email protected]. This includes web accessible PDF, large print, BSL, audio, and easy read.
Contact’s Early Years SEND programme in England supports early years staff, parent carers and local services to build more inclusive support for young disabled children and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme is delivered as part of the Early Years SEND Partnership and funded by the Department for Education.
Over the last year, the programme has enabled families and practitioners to work together to improve communication, strengthen trust, increase co-production and create more inclusive support within early years settings and Family Hub services.
Working with practitioners
Contact delivered workshops for 97 early years practitioners focused on working more effectively with parent carers.
All participants reported a better understanding of how to work alongside families. 99% said they felt more confident taking practical steps to improve their services. Practitioners particularly valued the practical advice, accessible online sessions and opportunities to reflect on how services can better support families from underrepresented communities.
Supporting parent carers
Alongside this, Contact’s Brighter Beginnings programme supported 595 parent carers through workshops covering behaviour, transitions, toilet training, sensory needs and social communication skills. Contact also collaborated with Speech and Language UK to deliver workshops on speech, language and communication.
Parent feedback remained consistently positive. 89–96% said they felt more confident, better informed about support strategies and clearer about next steps. Many parents also said the workshops helped them feel less isolated by connecting with other families facing similar experiences. During the year, Contact also developed a new sensory workshop and factsheet.
Through Contact’s work with local areas, several key themes emerged:
Improving engagement with underrepresented and underserved families.
Strengthening inclusive conversations and cultural awareness.
Improving joined-up working across Family Hubs, early years, health and SEND services.
Moving away from consultation towards meaningful co-production with parent carers.
Strengthening parent voice and improving early identification and access to support.
Listening to families to improve early years support
The programme also highlighted ongoing barriers many families face when trying to access support. These include unclear pathways, inaccessible information, digital exclusion, language barriers and services not always recognising different family structures or caregiving arrangements.
The programme has continued to build practitioner confidence in having inclusive conversations with families and involving parents earlier in service design, review and decision-making. A national seminar also explored how early years services can better engage fathers and male carers.
Through workshops, local support, national seminars and co-production network meetings, the programme has contributed to local and national conversations about inclusive practice. And while developing practical resources and shared learning across early years systems.
A consistent message throughout the programme has been the importance of relationship-based practice, trusted community engagement and ensuring families of young children with SEND feel heard, valued and genuinely welcomed within Family Hubs, early years settings and local services.
Children across the UK are already getting involved in Contact’s DinoDay challenge, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Thanks to your incredible support, families have already raised 20% of our £60,000 target ahead of this June’s fundraiser for Contact.
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped get DinoDay to such a strong start – we’ve absolutely loved seeing your unlimited creativity, imagination and enthusiasm for our fun and inclusive annual fundraising challenge. The money you raise helps us continue providing expert advice, information and support to families who need it most.
The beauty of DinoDay is that your child’s challenge can be anything at all – as long as it involves the number 19! Families have already come up with some wonderful ideas, including:
Growing 19 sunflowers
Writing and delivering 19 kindness notes
Painting 19 pebbles
Drawing 19 pictures
Walking, running, skipping or scooting 19 or 1.9 miles
Get involved and claim your free DinoDay t-shirt!
We’d love your family to join the DinoDay fun. Taking part couldn’t be easier – simply choose any 19 activities you’d like to do, and then ask friends and family to sponsor you while raising money to support disabled children and their families.
Everyone who fundraises will receive a free DinoDay challenge t-shirt and activity tracker for all your little dinos taking part.
Meet the roarsome Stanley and Eli
Stanley, right, and Eli
Stanley is taking on the challenge of visiting 19 parks. His mum Sophie says:
“This will challenge Stanley in new environments, which isn’t easy for him. Stanley has level 3 autism and global developmental delay. He is non-verbal, but everyone who knows him knows he loves the park.”
Meanwhile, nearly four-year-old Eli is completing a different activity across 19 days for his DinoDay challenge. Eli was born prematurely at 29+5 weeks and has mild right-sided hemiplegia, which can affect his balance, alongside some sensory issues. His mum Sarah says:
“This is the first time we are doing the DinoDay Challenge. For Eli’s challenge we have planned different activities over 19 days. Day one is gardening with my little man planting vegetables, and then we’ll visit a local country park and complete some obstacle activities along the way.”
What you shared with us through our focus groups in March, our helpline and family support services, as well as our research and campaigning work, has been central to shaping our submission.
Contact recognises the urgent need to reform SEND support. We welcome the government’s ambition to improve inclusion, strengthen earlier intervention and improve support in mainstream schools. We also recognise the constructive engagement ministers and officials have had with parent carers and the sector during the consultation.
However, our response makes clear that reforms will only work if they strengthen rather than weaken support, accountability and families’ confidence in the system.
As a priority, the government must make sure support set out in Individual Support Plans (ISPs) is legally enforceable and clearly accountable. It must also be backed by independent ways for families to challenge decision when support is not delivered.
Based on what parent carers shared with us, Contact believes successful reform must be built around five key principles:
Support must remain based on children and young people’s needs, not what services can afford.
Families must retain strong legal rights and meaningful routes of challenge.
Assessment and support must remain joined-up across education, health and care.
Mainstream inclusion must be strengthened alongside continued investment in specialist provision.
Co-production and fair access to support must be embedded throughout the system.
What you told us
Across our discussions with parent carers, families consistently said they want earlier support before needs escalate into crisis. They also told us they want to see:
More inclusive schools and settings.
Better joined-up working across education, health and care.
Fewer delays and less conflict.
A system that is easier to navigate and more accountable when support is not delivered.
Many parent carers welcomed proposals for new Individual Support Plans (ISPs) and stronger inclusion in mainstream schools. However, they also raised significant concerns about accountability and enforceability. Parent carers worry that without clear legal duties and independent routes to challenge decisions, ISPs could repeat some of the same problems families already experience under SEN support. This includes inconsistent support and difficulties securing provision when it is not delivered.
Families made clear that SEND tribunals are usually a last resort, used only when the wider system has already failed their child. Parent carers told us they do not want lengthy disputes or conflict with schools and local authorities. But they do want reassurance that there are proper safeguards in place when support breaks down.
A particularly strong message from parent carers was that poor coordination between education, health and care services remains one of the biggest weaknesses in the current system. Fragmented systems, staff shortages and unclear accountability were repeatedly described as major barriers to accessing therapies, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) support, continuing care and specialist support.
Contact is concerned that health and social care are still not sufficiently embedded in the White Paper proposals. Without stronger joint accountability, sufficient workforce capacity and clearer responsibilities across agencies, there is a real risk the reforms will not deliver the meaningful change children and families urgently need.
What happens next?
The Department for Education will now review the responses submitted to the consultation. It will publish its formal response later this year.
The response will set out the feedback received and which proposals the government intends to change, take forward or develop further. Further policy development and engagement will continue over this period.
Last week the King’s Speech announced an Education for All Bill, which will include any legislative changes needed. The parliamentary process will be another opportunity for parent carers and charities to influence what the Bill says before it becomes law.
Are you a family of a disabled child in the Antrim and Newtownabbey areas of Northern Ireland? You’re invited to a special celebration event later this month.
Organised by the council and hosted by UTV’s Paul Clark, “We See You” takes place at Theatre at The Mill, Newtownabbey, Wednesday 27 May 2026, 10am to 2pm.
The event aims to shine a light on the dedication, strength, and compassion of carers, recognising the vital and often unseen role you play. Parent carers are encouraged to attend along with those they care for.
Free refreshments and a buffet lunch will be provided. Families can stop by information stands and speak to advisers from local and national organisations, including the Contact NI team.
The venue is fully accessible with an Accessoloo and sensory room. BSL interpreters will also be there on the day.
The government’s consultation on its proposed changes to SEND support in schools has now closed. Contact’s CEO, Anna Bird wanted to personally thank the thousands of parent carers, local parent carer forums and the National Network of Parent Carer Forums who helped to make sure that families voices were heard throughout the consultation process.
“Thank you to everyone who gave up their precious time to respond to the government’s plans to change the way children with SEND are supported in school – whether that was directly by filling in the government’s consultation document, through Contact or through your local parent carer forum.
“It’s been fantastic to see so many parent carers come together to speak up for their children and make sure their lived experience remains at the heart of the national conversation. In particular, parent carer forums across England , supported by their umbrella body, the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF), who have played a vital role over the last 12 weeks bringing families experiences directly to government at meetings with ministers and SEND development group meetings, select committee hearings, national roundtable events and conversations with Department for Education policy leads.
“We know that since the consultation was published back in March many of you have grown increasingly concerned about the proposals and have questioned whether their voices are truly being heard. We want to let you know that the feedback you have shared with through Contact, the NNPCF and local parent carer forums has been central to our organisational response to the consultation.
“Although the Schools White Paper consultation has now closed, this is not the end of the process. There is still much more to do and we will continue to work with parent carers and the NNPCF to make sure decision-makers understand the day-to-day realities parent carers face – just like we always have done.
“Thank you once again for sharing your views and experiences.”
What happens next?
In last week’s King’s speech, King Charles III announced the government’s plan to change the law around special educational needs support in England and to introduce new legislation through the ‘education for all’ bill. The changes are not law yet.
New bills must still be debated and approved by Parliament before they become law and any new system would not start before 2029 at the earliest, and there will be no changes to EHCPs before at least September 2030.
This advice applies in England only.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is currently undertaking an exercise to identify families in England wrongly refused Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit payments for a 16–18-year-old being educated outside of school or college.
What was the error?
In 2014, the Child Benefit and Tax Credits rules were changed to allow parents in England to claim benefit for a 16–18-year-old who was being educated as part of a “study programme” provided outside of school or college. The study programme could be at home or elsewhere.
However, these new rules weren’t worded properly. They unintentionally removed the requirement for the young person to be involved in more than 12 hours study per week. As a result, according to the rules a young person on a study programme was eligible even if they were in less than 12 hours study.
Some HMRC decision makers assumed that the 12-hour rule still applied to those on study programmes. They wrongly refused benefit to families whose young person was being educated outside of school or college for less than 12 hours a week.
What is HMRC doing about this?
Since October 2025, HMRC have been carrying out a correction exercise. The aim is to identify families who were underpaid either Child Benefit or Child Tax Credit.
They believe around 500 families may have lost out, but have only been able to identify a very small number of these families themselves. They are now asking families who think they may have lost out to identify themselves.
Who missed out and is due arrears?
HMRC say that the parents or guardians who may be due arrears will be those refused Child Benefit/tax credits payments because their young person was studying for less than 12 hours a week and where the young person was:
Aged between 16 and 18 at that time.
Living in England.
Being educated somewhere other than a school, or college.
And where the local authority had assessed that education as suitable for that disabled young person.
HMRC say they can correct any wrong Child Benefit decisions made since 2014. They can correct any wrong tax credits decisions made since March 2019.
What should you do?
If you think you may be affected by these rules, contact HMRC as soon as possible. You may be asked to provide a letter from your local authority confirming that the education being provided at the time was suitable for your disabled young person.
If you think you missed out on Child Benefit, contact the Child Benefit office helpline by calling 0300 322 9620. You can also write to HM Revenue and Customs: Child Benefit Office, PO Box 1, Newcastle upon Tyne NE88 1AA.
If you think you missed out on Child Tax Credit, contact the tax credits office by calling 0345 300 3900. Or you can write to HM Revenue and Customs, Tax Credit Office BX9 1ER.
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