ABSTRACT
This chapter considers progress towards the promotion and protection of rights for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEN/D) under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The education and well-being of children with SEN/D are subject to debates in which passions run high on all sides. States Parties recognize their rights to special care, and shall encourage and ensure the extension, subject to available resources, of assistance appropriate to the child’s condition and the circumstances of parents/carers. Much energy is invested in trying to get the system to deliver what the UNCRC affirms as rights for all children. In England, delivering them across education, health and social care has been made more challenging by shrinking resources since at least 2010. Since the enactment of the Children and Families Act 2014 in England, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have conducted joint inspections of local SEN/D planning, provision and partnerships.
