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For a long time, I've been desperate to produce a film about special educational needs and disabilities.

You might recognize me from my EastEnders role, but I'm also a mum to an autistic child who also has dyslexic traits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

It took months of determination and effort from my husband and I to secure the right education for him. Sometimes, it felt like a struggle.

That is why I wanted to create this film, so I could meet other parents going through the similar situation, and speak to teachers, councils, and the ministry about how children with special needs are educated in England.

The Scope of Send in the UK

Currently, there are more than 1.7 million young people in the country with Send. This represents a broad group, including those on the autism spectrum and individuals who struggle with communication, have attention disorders, and physical disabilities, among other conditions.

Educational institutions in England do offer some support to these students, but if families believe their child requires extra help, they can make an application to their council for an EHCP.

An Education, Health and Care Plan is a vital document because it is enforceable by law, specifies where a pupil should go to school, and outlines how much additional help they should get.

My husband and I devoted hours completing the forms to apply for an EHCP, and many families find the procedure very frustrating.

A Mother and Son's Journey

Shortly after I meet teenage the young man, he shows me his beloved cuddly toy, Reindeer Dog.

He is on the autism spectrum, which means his mind experiences and reacts to the environment in a unique manner from others. He faces difficulties in meeting people his own age, managing his emotions, and anxiety. Buddy likes to keep Reindeer Dog nearby.

After moving to the capital from Scotland in October 2024, Buddy's mum, the parent, began searching for schools. She says she contacted at least 11 institutions, but several failed to respond, and the ones that replied said they were full or could not give her son extra support without an Education, Health and Care Plan.

By the beginning of this year, more than 638,000 plans had been granted to students in England, a significant increase on the previous year and an substantial growth in six years.

The increase is partly because families and educators have become more skilled at identifying children who have special educational needs, especially autism spectrum disorder, as opposed to there being more children with special needs.

This marks the repeat Buddy and Tunde have applied for an EHCP. Their initial request was turned down before Buddy was assessed. Local authorities decline about a quarter of requests at the assessment stage, as per official figures.

During their time in the Scottish system, Tunde says they were not required to request the equivalent of an EHCP. Buddy's secondary school provided assistance for his learning, although not for his emotional needs.

Scotland has a different system for helping children with special needs; educational institutions strive to deliver more support without the need for parents to apply for the equivalent of an EHCP.

"It's chaotic," she says. "[Securing help] was so easily done, and it should be simple to repeat."

While the teenager is unable to go to school, the council is providing him with 19 hours of tuition per week in the local library.

Tunde explains the process of applying for an plan has been so demanding she had to stop working as a birth attendant and health visitor for a time.

"I am unable to manage my duties. I can't get him to these sessions, and work at the identical time… I couldn't get my son seen in the right amount of time and attend to other people's babies in the necessary period. It became a difficult choice - and he won," she comments.

I reconnect with Buddy after a long speech and language assessment.

"Exhausting… that is the only word I have for you," he remarks as he leans against a barrier, Reindeer Dog tucked under his arm.

A School for the Teenager

As autumn begins and while millions students begin classes, Buddy is continuing to be educated in the public library. 60 days after I first met him, he's receiving an Education, Health and Care Plan but his schooling is still not settled.

The local council approved the mother's request that he go to an private institution that works with pupils who have difficulties in mainstream schools.

Prior to he can start there, the institution has assumed responsibility for the sessions he gets in the library. But the parent's now not sure the place will be able to deliver what she believes her son requires to enhance his interpersonal abilities and confidence with children his own age.

"We were fully ready for September… and he's still without a school place, he continues to receive individual instruction," she stated.

"In my view … preparing to be around other kids and then still only having solo with instructors has set him back and made him not want to attend school."

The local authority says it views the family's worries with utmost importance and it will continue to support her household to make certain they receive the provision they need without additional waiting.

It says it understands how hard it can be for families to manage the system, and how upsetting holdups in obtaining help can be.

It says it has allocated funds in a specialist information and advice team, and now ensures pupils are assessed by expert educators at the initial phase, and it is open to reassessing the circumstances when families are worried about education placements.

The Current System is Broken

I am aware there is another side to this issue.

The huge rise in the quantity of EHCPs is placing local authorities under severe financial pressure. According to projections that UK local governments are set to run up a total accumulated Send deficit between £4.3bn and £4.9bn by March 2026.

Ministers states it has invested a significant sum to help authorities fund EHCPs and additional funds on new Send school places.

I went to West Sussex County Council to speak with one of few officials in public service willing to talk to me publicly about Send funding.

The councillor is a Conservative councillor and cabinet member for education and youth.

"Today's framework is actually very adversarial. Families are more and more tired and worried and frustrated of fighting… Staff sickness levels are extremely elevated at the moment," she explains.

"This system is ineffective. It is broken. It fails to provide the best outcomes for children."

Demand for EHCPs is now exceeding funding in West Sussex. In a decade ago, the council had about 3,400 children with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Now there are over 10,000.

As a result the special needs budget gap has been increasing year-on-year, so that at the end of 2025 it stands at more than £123m.

"That [money] is really essentially meant to be for community resources. {That would have|