Merseyside Send Support Network

04/03/2026

Don’t forget to come see us Thursday. ☕️☕️☕️

Hope to see you all here.

04/03/2026

The Hidden Costs of SEND

Based on multi-authority Freedom of Information responses (2025–26), we estimate that £850 million to £1.49 billion per year is being spent not on children’s provision — but on managing, defending and administrating the SEND system.

That includes:
• EHCP casework & backlog admin
• SEND tribunal & judicial review defence
• Complaints, mediation & governance panels
• Consultants, transformation programmes & digital systems
• Strategic oversight layers

This isn’t speculative.
It’s drawn from disclosed tribunal spend, legal budgets, staffing structures and programme costs across local authorities.

Close to £1bn per year is being spent on preventing provision.
Imagine if that was spent on support instead?

04/03/2026

03/03/2026

☕✨ MSSN Coffee Morning – Come & Join Us! ✨☕

We’re hosting our next MSSN coffee morning and we’d absolutely love to see you there 💛

Whether you’re a new parent, a regular face, or just need a brew and a chat with people who get it, this space is for you.

No pressure, no judgement – just:
🤍 Friendly faces
🤍 Shared experiences
🤍 Support & understanding
🤍 Tea, coffee & biscuits (of course!)

Come along, have a chat, ask questions, or just sit and breathe for a bit. You’re never alone in this 💛

Drop a comment or message us for details – we can’t wait to see you ☕✨

03/03/2026

Do you have a child or young person attending LIPA School?

Following reports in the Liverpool Echo that the Department for Education (DfE) has decided the school will close at the end of this academic year, with a 4-week consultation period — we want to hear directly from parents and carers.

📢 Your voice matters.

We would like to understand:

• When were you first contacted about the decision to close?
• Who contacted you — the school, the DfE, or someone else?
• Has the consultation formally started?
• How has communication been handled so far? Has it felt clear, timely and transparent?
• Have you been given information about next steps for your child/young person?

If you feel comfortable sharing your experience (good or bad), please comment below or message us privately at livpacpcf@gmail.com

As a Parent Carer Forum, we are gathering feedback to ensure families’ voices are heard and that communication and support are appropriate during this time.

Please share with other LIPA families.

03/03/2026

02/03/2026

Over recent weeks, our community has faced an unprecedented wave of online trolling, misinformation, and targeted mockery. Following the extremely difficult events surrounding the BAFTAs, many people with Tourette’s have been struggling with fear, shame, isolation, and a HUGE need to defend a condition they cannot control.

We had hoped this would be a new week and we could move on but the release of further content online that has been designed to ridicule Tourette’s and reduce our community to a punchline has only deepened that hurt.

I want to be completely clear here THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Mocking a disability is never acceptable. It would not be tolerated for any other condition, and it should not be tolerated by people with Tourette’s.

Tourette’s is a complex neurological condition, of which there is no cure. It is not a joke. It is not a personality trait. It is not a source of entertainment. It is a condition that can be extremely debilitating, causing pain isolation and huge amounts of discrimination.

Videos and posts that deliberately misrepresent or sensationalise tics set us back years. A single video can undo the progress our community has spent years building toward greater awareness. I hope those creating these videos understand that they create real consequences for people in our community: fear, isolation, bullying, abuse, and a feeling among many that they must hide away to stay safe.

The trolling and harassment members of our community have endured in the past few days has been horrific. People have been targeted with threats and humiliation simply for having a condition they did not choose. No one should ever be treated that way.

These recent events have been painful for multiple communities, and I am not for one minute dismissing that hurt, but directing anger and ridicule to people with Tourette’s does nothing to heal that pain and does not move us forward.

What we need right now is people to be kind. We need compassion, accurate information and above all, we need education.

I am asking everyone, content creators, viewers, the media, and the wider public, to please consider the impact of what they say and what they share. Behind every tic is a person. A family. A life. A long standing history of being misunderstood.

I was always brought up with the motto that if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing and to always, always be kind.

To those in the Tourette’s community:
Please know you are not alone. We are here for you. I know times now are causing extreme pain but please don’t feel like you need to hide away. Reach out to us for support.

To the wider public who want to support:

Please share our educational content, help us dispel the myths and help our community get one step closer to acceptance.

We will continue advocating, educating, and standing together as a community.

Much love,
Emma

02/03/2026

The Education and Health and Social Care committees have teamed up to launch a joint inquiry into children and young people’s mental health.

The cross-party committees are seeking evidence from parents, young people, families and professionals. The aim is to examine how well the system is meeting mental health needs.

Amanda Elliot, Contact’s health lead welcomed the inquiry:

“It’s long overdue. It is vital we understand the relationship between disabled children’s mental health and the way they are supported in and out of school. Persistently high rates of school exclusions, placement breakdowns and anxiety-related school refusal show something needs to change. There is important work still to be done to get this right for our children.”

Find out more, and how you can respond here: https://f.mtr.cool/rcozubzgdm

02/03/2026

Hope to see you all here.