‘Everything Takes Time’: One family’s experience of SEND delays

Across Hampshire, families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are experiencing long waiting times for assessments and uncertainty around school placements.

Demand for SEND support has increased, placing pressure on services across health and education.

For one parent, Nicole, these challenges have shaped much of her daughter Bonnie’s early life.

From infancy, Bonnie’s mother raised concerns about her development.

Her cleft palate was not diagnosed for eight months, and despite ongoing developmental delays, her concerns were initially reassured rather than escalated.

Bonnie has since received a confirmed MED13L genetic diagnosis, alongside severe developmental delays, no speech, sensory needs, repetitive behaviours and feeding difficulties.

Her mother says accessing appropriate support has remained complex.

“From the beginning, it’s been difficult to get concerns fully addressed,” she says. “Every referral and assessment has taken time.”

Difficulties have also arisen within education. Bonnie attended a mainstream school, but the setting later confirmed it was unable to meet her needs.

She was subsequently removed from the placement and currently has no school provision in place.

Her mother has been informed that a confirmed placement may not be available until September 2026, unless an appeal at a tribunal hearing scheduled for November is successful.

The school being appealed for is located close to the family home and has indicated it could support Bonnie’s needs.

As a single parent, she describes the practical impact of navigating the system as significant. With no school placement, Bonnie is not currently accessing the structured support often used to develop communication, sensory regulation and social skills.

Day to day life, she says, involves frequent communication with services, completing paperwork and waiting for decisions.

“Everything takes time,” she explains. “Assessments, referrals and outcomes don’t happen quickly.”

While she acknowledges that individual professionals have offered support, she feels that overall coordination between services could be improved.

“A child with complex needs ideally needs consistent provision,” she says. “At the moment, there are gaps.”

Looking ahead, she believes improvements could include shorter waiting times, earlier intervention, greater awareness of rare genetic conditions and clearer pathways to suitable school placements.

She also suggests that disputes over placements could be resolved earlier, without the need for formal tribunal proceedings where appropriate provision is already identified.

For families like Bonnie’s, delays do not simply affect processes but have a direct impact on her education and development.