'We're not problems,' Send youngsters tell MPs

Children with special educational needs and disabilities should not be treated as problems, youngsters have told MPs.

"We're not problems, we're not just disabled, we're not just Send - we are human beings, the same as the rest of you," one youngster, Ben, told MPs.

Ben was one of seven disabled young people who appeared before the Commons Education Select Committee on Tuesday.

The MPs are gathering information on Send from a range of groups and will publish a report in the early summer.

Ben, who works for Ripstar, a group that conducts research by young people with disabilities for young people with disabilities, told MPs that education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for children with special needs should not be seen as a form or a process but as "a child's life".

They should be person- and life-focused and "not just about education", enabling young people to develop life skills, he said.

"We found out that plans are too educational-focused and not life-focused, so children are not receiving the support they need in other important areas, such as developing independence, having choice, control, achieving aspirations, life goals, friends, accessing the community."

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