The Disabled Children’s Partnership Together with 120 charities and thousands of parents, we are campaigning to make disabled children a priority with the new Government. We want improvements to disabled children’s education, social care and health funding and the law. Disabled children and their families should have a right to access the services and support they need to live a good quality of life and have the same opportunities as any other family. This is an injustice and must change. That why Contact set up and leads the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP). We are calling on the major political parties to consider disabled children and their families in the general election year. The key asks of the Manifesto are: Make disabled children a priority. Those at the heart of politics need to prioritise the needs of disabled children and their families and to acknowledge disabled children and their families as equal, valued members of society. We want all parties to commit to the appointment of a Minister for Disabled Children and to producing a cross party disabled children’s strategy. Clarify and enforce rights, and review the law. The next Government must commit to stronger accountability within the SEND system; to making the education system inclusive; and to ensuring that disabled children and young people receive the support they need across the education, health and social care systems. Address funding shortfalls and create a dedicated fund for disabled children. Making disabled children the priority and having a system that is fit for purpose with effective accountability will help make this happen; but the right level of funding is also vital A parent’s view Linda Taylor Cantrill, from Exmouth, Devon, is mum to seven-year-old twins. Reddington has complex needs including visual and hearing impairment and Teddy is autistic. She said: “I have come to think of children with special needs like my sons as “throwaway children” because that’s how the system treats them. They are an inconvenience and just figures on spreadsheets – not living, breathing children with potential. Even before lockdown, the entire system that was supposed to support them worked against them. It is so complicated it’s a full-time job for a parent to fight for their child and slash through the red tape. “We were abandoned in the pandemic and our children are still paying the cost. The government has a chance now to change this situation for the better and fund support for families who are on their knees.” What have we achieved? The Disabled Children’s Partnership has: Published five major research reports, with significant media and parliamentary interest. Secured £30 million for a short breaks innovation fund. Campaigned for the Law Commission review of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care. DCP campaigns: #SENDABetterMessage calls on the government to use its SEND reform programme to create a more just, fairer system of support for disabled children and families – one that is easier to navigate and gets them the services they’re entitled without having to fight for them. #LeftInLockdown exposes the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of disabled children and families, and calls for targeted recovery policies to help them heal from a year of lost progress. #SecretLifeofUs provides a platform for families with disabled children, raising awareness of barriers in society, and aiming to increase understanding and empathy of the experiences of families. #ThisIsSocialCare a social media campaign, highlighting the positive impact social care can make to the lives of disabled children and their families when the right support is put in place. Much like #SecretLifeofUs it provides a platform for parents to raise awareness of their experience with social care. Left in Lockdown Thank you to all the parents on our panel who are helping track the impact of lockdown on disabled children, we couldn’t do it without you Anan Bird, CEO of Contact and chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership Give it Back campaign Research with more than 3000 parent carers found only 4 per cent feel they get the right support to safely care for their disabled children. We also commissioned economic research showing a £1.5 billion funding gap for services needed by disabled children. That’s why in June 2019, in partnership with the Sun newspaper, we launched the Give it Back campaign calling on the Government to give back the £434 million of support owed to disabled children and their families. More than 21,000 people signed an open letter to the Chancellor from parent carer Vickey, who receives no support caring for her son, Ollie, even though he has an ultra-rare condition that means he needs constant supervision and can never be left alone. We have produced a powerful film that highlights the harsh reality for families when they don’t have the right support in place. What the Give it Back campaign has achieved In response to pressure from families and charities, the government announced £700 million for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. It has also helped us: Raise awareness in Parliament and in the media Influence the SEND Review Secure a focus (chapter) on children in the forthcoming government National Disability Strategy The Secret Life of Us campaign We know that 43 per cent of the British public don’t know anyone who is disabled. 97 per cent of parents with a disabled children do not believe the public understands the challenges they face every day. The Secret Life of Us campaign aims to change this. Watch our film on Toby’s and Millie’s Secret Life. Read about the Secret Life of Rishi. By doing this, we hope to open the eyes of the public to the difficulties faced by families on a day-to-day basis, removing the barriers to people being able to relate to the lives of disabled children. More about the DCP Contact formed the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) in 2016. Who’s in the DCP? For the full list, visit the Disabled Children’s Partnership website