In a distressing report, experts have sounded the alarm on the escalating special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) crisis gripping England and Wales. The failings of the current system, they warn, are leaving thousands of vulnerable children at heightened risk of exploitation by criminal gangs and sexual predators. With lengthy delays for assessments and inadequate support, these young lives are being placed in jeopardy.
The Scope of the SEND Crisis
The numbers paint a stark picture. Over 1.6 million children in England and Wales have special educational needs or disabilities, yet a staggering 75% of them do not have an education and health care plan in place. This leaves them without the vital support and accommodations they need to thrive in school and beyond.
Waiting times for SEND assessments can stretch up to an agonizing four years, during which these children are left in limbo. Deprived of the help they urgently require, they face significantly higher rates of school exclusion. This isolation, experts caution, makes them prime targets for those who would exploit their vulnerability.
From School Exclusion to Exploitation
Research from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the University of Portsmouth, funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, lays bare the chilling link between school exclusion and exploitation. As researcher Sarah Goff explains:
“Parents were very clear that being out of school was the major problem. For many of them, they had not been heard when they had been noticing that their child growing up had special needs.”
Sarah Goff, Manchester Metropolitan University researcher
The lack of support for teachers, compounded by cuts to youth services, has created gaping holes in the safety net for these children. And predators, Goff warns, are all too adept at seeking out those who lack stable anchors in their lives.
Heartbreaking Stories, Urgent Action Needed
Behind every statistic is a child whose life has been irrevocably impacted. One mother shared the harrowing story of her son, who has undiagnosed ADHD. Excluded from mainstream school for two years, he fell prey to drug dealers, enduring severe abuse before attempting to take his own life. Only then was his condition finally diagnosed.
Another mother recounted how her pleas for SEND support for her autistic daughter went unheard—until after the girl had suffered sexual abuse. “If she’d [had] diagnoses,” the mother reflected, “it might not have happened.”
These devastating accounts underscore the urgent need for action. The MMU research team is calling for updated government guidance on safeguarding disabled children, national training to prevent exploitation, and crucially, the creation of supportive spaces where children can open up to trusted adults.
The Government’s Responsibility
Liz Williams, head of policy impact at Modern Slavery PEC, minces no words in asserting where the responsibility lies:
“Urgent action is needed from schools to address children’s needs to prevent their exclusion, and from the government to make sure schools have the resources.”
Liz Williams, head of policy impact at Modern Slavery PEC
The Department for Education has acknowledged that urgent work is underway to improve outcomes for SEND children. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has emphasized the importance of focusing on student wellbeing in schools.
But acknowledgment is not enough. The lives and futures of countless vulnerable children hang in the balance. It is imperative that the government takes swift, comprehensive action to rectify the failings of the SEND system. Every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and valued—and it is society’s most fundamental duty to ensure that this becomes a reality for all.
