Tag: department-for-education
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A National Picture of Harm: Families speak out on SEND
Measure What Matters. National Database: Indexed Testimony on SEND Maladministration · Volume 3 · 22 February 2026 Volume 3: National Database: Indexed Testimony on SEND Maladministration The largest published qualitative primary source dataset on the lived experience of families navigating the SEND system in England — now containing 1,253 testimonies from 134 Local Authorities across…
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Children Died. The System Looked Away. Today the Government Will Call That Reform.
A Measure What Matters investigation into the suicide of neurodivergent children failed by the SEND system — and a system that answered their deaths with no learning, no accountability, and, as of today, no recourse. Content warning: This report contains detailed accounts of child suicide, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. It has been prepared with regard…
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What the Cases Reveal: Failure, Fragmentation, and the Absence of Scrutiny
A Measure What Matters investigation into the suicide of neurodivergent children failed by the SEND system — and a system that answered their deaths with no learning, no accountability, and, as of today, no recourse. Content warning: This report contains detailed accounts of child suicide, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. It has been prepared with regard…
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Family Testimonies: A Foreword
The following document contains a series of anonymised testimonies submitted by parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Surrey over the last 2 months. The responses were collected in answer to the following question: “Have you experienced unethical, dishonest, unlawful or harmful behaviour from Surrey County…
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Open Letter to Rt. Hon. BRIDGET PHILLIPSON MP, Secretary of State for Education
Re: Urgent concerns over unlawful conduct, maladministration, and breakdown of accountability at Surrey County Council in the management of their statutory SEND responsibilities. June 2025 Dear Rt. Hon. Bridget Phillipson, MP, We are writing to you today not as professionals, politicians, or campaigners — but as parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs…
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Overwritten and Obscured: How Surrey (*literally) Obscures their catastrophic SEND Performance
Surrey County Council’s Public Report on SEND: A Masterclass in Data Obfuscation We’ve covered Surrey County Council’s somewhat selective approach to performance reporting before. But unfortunately, their latest KPI Information, contained in the ‘Public Report Pack’ ahead of the ‘Children Families and Lifelong Learning Culture Committee’ this week, is probably their most ridiculous example yet…
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Institutionalised Gaslighting? Our Response to Surrey County Council Leader’s Statement
Measure What Matters. has taken the significant and unusual step of responding directly to the public response letter which was issued by Cllr. Tim Oliver, Chair of Surrey County Council, addressed to 2 newly appointed MPs and subsequently released to the public on the 3rd September ‘24. Whilst this is a step away from our…
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Navigating the Fog: Understanding Misinformation, Disinformation, and the Quest for Clear Data in Local Government
Misinformation. It’s not always a matter of deliberate falsehoods. In the context of local government performance—particularly in complex reports about Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision—misinformation can be accurate but incomplete, out of context, or even just plain wrong. In the case of Surrey County Council, we believe this is not simply an issue of data…
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Myth Busting: Understanding the Variations in demand for SEND Provision in Surrey
“We can’t always meet the parental expectations, there aren’t enough, we ‘ve seen a 150% increase in requests for new EHCPs. The demand goes up, year on year” Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council, 30th August 2024, in a broadcasted interview with BBC Surrey responding to concerns raised about their SEND services. There’s a…
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A snapshot of the performance of Surrey County Council’s Education Services for vulnerable children with SEND
Measure what matters. Executive Summary This report delivers a brief, deep-dive analysis of the performance of Surrey County Council’s (SCC) Children, Families, and Lifelong Learning (CFLL) team in its duty to provide education services for vulnerable children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This report will describe how, despite significant additional investment and strategic…
Measure what matters. 