Teachers are abandoning their careers in unprecedented numbers due to what they describe as a "broken" Special Educational Needs system that is failing thousands of vulnerable children. The exodus includes experienced headteachers, SEN coordinators and specialist teachers who say they can no longer work within a system that contradicts their professional values.
Amy Ovenden, a former SENCO assistant from Maidstone, Kent, resigned from her mainstream school position last month after feeling she could "no longer sit by and stay silent". The 33-year-old mother lives with husband Rudi, 34, and their children Leighton, 10, who is autistic with ADHD, Arabella, eight, and Ronnie, five, who is awaiting an ASD/ADHD diagnosis.
"When I posted my resignation letter I never did so with the intention of having others join me, but the response was significant," Ovenden explained. She has since launched an independent advocacy service for parents struggling with the system.
System failures drive moral crisis
Former headteacher Sara Donnelly wrote a resignation letter that captured the moral anguish driving educators from the profession. "I'm not leaving because I don't care. I'm leaving because I do," stated the 42-year-old London resident, who worked in education for 14 years before leaving her mainstream school.
Donnelly now provides specialist training and advocacy after experiencing firsthand the impossible financial pressures schools face. One child requiring 2:1 support costs between £50,000-£60,000 annually, leaving schools to choose between moral obligations and financial survival.
"Getting the support you want for the children who need it is impossible," said Donnelly, whose autistic daughter with ADHD stopped attending her mainstream school entirely in March. "The options are to not have this child in school - that's morally wrong - potentially bankrupt the school, or take staff from other areas."
Warnings of devastating consequences
Lauren Vermeulen, who resigned from her London teaching post working in SEN provision for autistic children, warns of devastating long-term consequences. The 33-year-old, now based in Dorset as an SEN consultant, fears that unmet needs could lead to children becoming "suicidal teenagers" as they struggle without appropriate support.
"Thousands of children are being failed, parents are being gaslit, the in-between children who don't fit specialist but don't fit mainstream provisions are falling through the gaps," Vermeulen said. After 15 years in education, she describes the system as fundamentally "broken" despite society becoming more accepting of disability.
Schools face an impossible push to place more children with special needs into mainstream settings while funding is stripped away. Early intervention programmes are being delayed or denied entirely, with parents told to wait until school starts to apply for Education Health and Care Plans.
Crisis reaches breaking point
Only the Nottingham Post reports that parents face £104,000 annual fines for home-schooling when mainstream schools cannot meet their children's needs. Nottinghamshire's SEND system was found to have "widespread failings" in a 2023 Ofsted inspection, highlighting the scale of the crisis.
The three former educators support the Fight For Ordinary Campaign, organised by the Disabled Children's Partnership, Let Us Learn Too and the SEND Sanctuary. The campaign will hold a rally in Parliament Square on September 15th from 11:30am to 2:30pm, demanding greatly improved SEN support across the education system.
The Department for Education acknowledged the inherited crisis, with a spokesperson stating: "This government inherited a SEND system on its knees which is why our Plan for Change has committed to restoring the confidence of families, listening closely to parents as we work to improve experiences and outcomes for children. We are laying the groundwork for reform."
Sources used: "Mirror", "Nottingham Post" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
