S73 · E31

Kellie Bright - Autism, School and Families on the Edge

EastEnders actor Kellie Bright meets parents who say they’re exhausted by the fight to get the right education for their autistic children. She follows three families who are applying to their councils for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a crucial document which says where a child goes to school and what extra support they should get. Kellie learns that a crisis in funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities is contributing to financial trouble for many local authorities and that the government is promising reform. Drawing on her own experience as a mother to an autistic son, Kellie helps the children explain in their own words why they find school so hard and finds out what they and their parents think would help them to cope better and thrive.