Single parents raising children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are being left to carry an impossible burden.
Many parents are expected to work full-time while also managing school drop-offs and collections, frequent appointments, meetings, phone calls and emails, often because their child’s needs make traditional school hours, transport arrangements or wraparound childcare impossible.
Alongside this comes the relentless administration: EHCP applications and reviews, assessments, reports, evidence, forms, appeals, school consultations, transport applications and repeated requests for information — often requiring parents to fight simply to access the support their child is legally entitled to.
For a single parent, there is no second adult to share the school run, attend meetings, stay home when a child cannot attend school, or manage the endless paperwork and phone calls. Parents can be forced to choose between their child’s needs and their ability to earn a living.
This can lead to reduced working hours, lost income, career progression being put on hold and, in some cases, parents being forced out of employment altogether.
We are calling for greater recognition and practical support for single parents of children with SEND, including more flexible employment protections, accessible childcare and school transport, reduced administrative burdens, and better-coordinated SEND services.
Parents should not have to sacrifice their financial security and employment simply because they are advocating for their child’s education, wellbeing and basic right to appropriate support.
Supporting a child with SEND should not mean having to choose between being a parent and being able to work.
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