‘Your Voice’: A new platform for parents’ concerns

4 mins read

Wednesday 2 April 2025


A young boy stands between his two parents, all looking at the camera.

Laura and Aiden’s family


Disability benefit changes, squeezed education, health and social care support for children with additional needs. Add to this a liberal sprinkling of parent blame, and it’s no surprise so many parents we speak to feel like they’re being attacked from all directions. 

At Contact, we believe that parents deserve to be heard on the critical issues that affect your every day. Sadly and far too often, the parent’s perspective is overlooked.  

That’s why we’re launching Your Voice – a new feature on our website that amplifies the voices of parents like you. 

Through Your Voice, we’ll provide parents with a platform to respond to current hot topics from their own lived experience. Together, we can make sure parent’s concerns are front and centre in the ongoing conversations that shape support for children with additional needs. 

Laura’s voice on lack of mainstream school support

Our first Your Voice features Laura responding to the Channel 4 News item on Sunday about children who need more help at school, but aren’t getting it.

This is driving many parents to seek an education, health and care (EHC) plan as the only way to get the support their child needs. 

Laura’s son Aiden is eight and autistic, with sensory modulation disorder and selective mutism. Laura shares her views on why putting SEN support on a legal footing matters: 

“Despite his needs, it has been a struggle to get Aiden much support in school. For example, he is supposed to have access to a short sensory break in school every day (despite how he may be feeling at that time). But this doesn’t always happen. Or staff rely on Aiden to ask for it, which he cannot always communicate, hence needing it to just be a part of his routine.  

“Aiden masks a lot in school to try and ‘fit in’, which can be extremely tiring for him. He then comes home from school dysregulated and anxious. His school often tell us they don’t always have the staff available to allow him sensory breaks outside if needed. 

“I feel like I’m being passed from one service to another, with nothing done or one service disagreeing with another. I am told school have access to certain services. Then, when I speak with school, they will inform me this isn’t the case. As I am not a professional, I can only go by information given to me by the various services/school.

“Applying for an EHC plan is a long process – my son is really struggling right now.”  

“I’m now contemplating applying for an EHC plan to try and legally secure the support that he so clearly needs. But this is a long process and my son is really struggling right now. If Aiden had access to the support suggested by the professionals as part of his school routine, I feel he would come home from school a happier and more relaxed child. If the school had access to more funding, this could make a huge difference. 

“Aiden will be starting secondary school in just over two years time. I feel like an EHC plan is the only route I can go down to ensure that he will get what he needs in secondary school where his communication difficulties will be even greater.”

More on this issue

You can read about our new research into SEN support in school, published for the first time in the Channel 4 piece.

Or visit our education pages or information and advice on what support your child is entitled to.