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UK is losing out on best minds because of SEND failures, Rory Bremner warns
Rory Bremner says failures in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) risk wasting their abilities and contributing to poor outcomes later in life. Ahead of a cross-party campaign launch in Parliament, he has criticised plans that presume mainstream schooling is best for every child, arguing some need specialist provision.
Bremner, who was diagnosed with severe ADHD as an adult, cites findings that young people with SEND are about 80 per cent more likely to be not in education or full-time training, and government estimates that up to half of adult prisoners may be neurodivergent. Around one in five schoolchildren are identified as having special educational needs, while Department for Education research found 15 per cent of teachers would not feel confident identifying SEND. He says neurodivergent people can bring valuable strengths to fields including technology and the arts.
In short
- Bremner warns SEND support failures waste talent.
- He opposes assuming mainstream education suits every child.
- The campaign has backing from MPs across five parties.
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The case for
Bremner’s case is that when schools lack the expertise or resources to meet a child’s needs, that child may disengage and lose opportunities to develop their abilities, with lasting costs for them and society. Since children’s needs differ, specialist provision should remain available where it offers better support than a mainstream setting; improving identification and support could also help reduce later exclusion from education and work.
The case against
A thoughtful case for mainstream schooling is that, with suitable adjustments and specialist help, many children with SEND can learn well alongside their peers and benefit from shared social and educational opportunities. Treating specialist provision as the default for some groups could narrow choices or separate children unnecessarily, while the reported links with later outcomes do not by themselves establish that mainstream education causes those outcomes; the priority should be matching support to each child rather than assuming one setting suits all.
Explained simply
Special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND, covers a wide range of learning needs and disabilities. Support can include changes to teaching, extra help in a mainstream school or a place at a specialist school; what suits one child may not suit another.
Rory Bremner is a comedian and impressionist who was diagnosed with severe ADHD as an adult. He is speaking about SEND support as a campaign involving people from different political parties prepares to launch in Parliament.
The debate matters because many children are identified as having special educational needs, and gaps in support can affect their education and later opportunities. Bremner argues that recognising different needs and strengths could help more people take part in work and creative fields.
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