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For a long time, I was desperate to create a film focusing on special educational needs and disabilities.

You might know me as my EastEnders role, but I'm also a mother to an neurodivergent child who also has dyslexic traits and ADHD.

Required many months of perseverance and effort from my husband and I to obtain the appropriate education for him. At times, it seemed like a battle.

This is the reason I decided to make this film, so I could connect with other families going through the similar situation, and discuss with teachers, councils, and the government about how Send children are educated in the UK.

Understanding Send in the UK

There are more than 1.7 million children in the country with Send. It is a wide-ranging group, including those on the autism spectrum and individuals who face challenges in communication, have attention disorders, and mobility issues, along with other needs.

Educational institutions in England already provide some support to these students, but if parents think their son or daughter requires additional support, they can apply to their council for an EHCP.

An EHCP is a crucial document because it is enforceable by law, specifies where a child should attend, and outlines how much additional help they should get.

We devoted countless hours completing the forms to request an plan, and numerous parents describe the process extremely challenging.

A Mother and Son's Journey

Not long after I meet teenage Buddy, he shows me his beloved stuffed animal, his comfort object.

He is on the autism spectrum, which means his mind processes and reacts to the environment in a different way from many people's. He faces difficulties in socializing his own age, understanding his feelings, and anxiety. Buddy likes to keep Reindeer Dog close to him.

After moving to the capital from north of the border in last autumn, his mother, Tunde, began searching for schools. She says she tried at least 11 schools, but many of them didn't get back to her, and the ones that replied said they were at capacity or could not give Buddy extra support without an Education, Health and Care Plan.

By the beginning of this year, over 638,000 EHCPs had been issued to students in the country, a significant increase on the year before and an 80% increase in half a decade.

This rise is partly because parents and schools have got better at recognizing pupils who have special educational needs, particularly autism, as opposed to there being an increase with Send.

It is the second time the family have sought an plan. Their first application was rejected before he was assessed. Councils decline about a quarter of requests at the evaluation phase, according to official figures.

During their time in Scotland, Tunde notes they were not required to request the equivalent of an Education, Health and Care Plan. Buddy's comprehensive school provided assistance for his learning, although not for his well-being.

Scotland has a different system for supporting children with Send; educational institutions strive to offer more support without the requirement for parents to apply for the similar of an EHCP.

"It's chaotic," she states. "[Securing help] was straightforward, and it should be simple to repeat."

Although the teenager is not able to go to school, the local authority is providing him with nearly 20 hours of lessons per week in the community library.

The mother tells me the procedure of seeking an EHCP has been so demanding she had to stop working as a midwife and health visitor for a period.

"I can't do the parenting. I can't get him to these sessions, and be employed at the identical time… I was unable to get my son seen in the right amount of time and see other people's babies in the necessary period. It became a toss up - and he won," she says.

We catch up with Buddy after a lengthy speech and language assessment.

"Exhausting… that's all I have for you," he says as he leans against a barrier, his toy held close.

A School for the Teenager

It's September and as countless children begin classes, Buddy is continuing to be educated in the library. Two months after I first met him, he's getting an EHCP but his schooling is still not settled.

The council approved Tunde's request that he attend an private school that works with children who have difficulties in mainstream schools.

Prior to Buddy can begin there, the institution has already taken over the sessions he gets in the library. But the parent's now not sure the place will be able to provide what she believes her son needs to improve his social skills and confidence with children his own age.

"We had been all prepared for September… and he remains not at school, he continues to receive individual instruction," she said.

"In my view … getting ready to be around fellow students and then still just being solo with adults has set him back and made him not want to go to school."

The local authority says it views the family's worries with utmost importance and it will continue to assist her family to ensure they obtain the provision they need without additional waiting.

It says it knows how hard it can be for families to navigate the system, and how distressing delays in obtaining help can be.

It says it has allocated funds in a specialist support service, and currently guarantees pupils are evaluated by expert educators at the earliest stage, and it is willing to reviewing the situation when parents are worried about education placements.

Existing Framework is Failing

I know there is another side to this story.

The huge rise in the quantity of EHCPs is placing local authorities under intense financial pressure. According to projections that English councils are set to accumulate a total accumulated Send deficit between £4.3bn and £4.9bn by spring 2026.

Ministers states it has invested a billion pounds to help authorities pay for EHCPs and further investment on special educational needs placements.

I went to West Sussex County Council to interview among the few people in local government prepared to discuss on the record about Send funding.

Jacquie Russell is a elected representative and official for children, young people and learning.

"Today's framework is actually highly confrontational. Our parents are more and more exhausted and anxious and frustrated of battling… Staff sickness levels are really, really high at the moment," she explains.

"The current system doesn't work. It is broken. It's not delivering the optimal results for children."

Demand for plans is now exceeding resources in the region. In 2015, the authority had about 3,400 children with an EHCP. Today there are more than 10,000.

As a result the Send deficit has been increasing annually, so that at the end of 2025 it stands at more than £123m.

"These funds is primarily meant to be for community resources. {That would have|