Dozens of empty children’s shoes will be displayed on the steps of Shire Hall as families protest the widespread failures in the support system for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
This demonstration, part of the nationwide Every Pair Tells a Story campaign, will take place on Monday, November 3, outside Gloucestershire County Council. Organised by The SEND Sanctuary UK in partnership with Let Us Learn Too and Let’s Make a Difference, the symbolic display is one of over 70 events happening across England on the same day.
Each pair of shoes represents a child who has been let down by the education system—whether through lack of adequate support, unsuitable school placements, or prolonged delays in assessing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
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“This protest stands for every child failed by broken promises and an overcomplicated system,” said Aimee Bradley, founder of The SEND Sanctuary UK. “No child should be left behind because their needs are deemed too complex or inconvenient.”
In Gloucestershire, the number of children and young people with EHCPs has surged by nearly 50% since 2019, now exceeding 7,000. Yet, parents continue to face assessment delays stretching up to 35 weeks—far longer than the legal maximum of 20 weeks. Both Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have previously reported ongoing issues with the coordination between education, health, and care services.
The campaign extends beyond children missing from education; it encompasses those who attend schools where their needs remain misunderstood or unmet.
“For some, these shoes were never worn because they were denied the right school placement,” Aimee explained. “For others, their time in education lasted only days or weeks before everything broke down.”
Earlier this year, The SEND Sanctuary co-organised The Fight for Ordinary protest, attracting over 800 supporters including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Helen Hayes, Chair of the Education Select Committee. Both politicians voiced support for improved SEND provisions and called for urgent reforms.
Families in Gloucestershire participating in the shoe protest urge both local and national governments to take responsibility and make meaningful changes. They stress that upcoming SEND reforms must be shaped by the voices of those directly affected to avoid repeating past mistakes.
“We are not the problem. We are the evidence of the problem,” Aimee emphasized. “Our children deserve more than empty promises — they deserve real change, and they deserve it now.”
The public is invited to attend the event and can contribute by donating pairs of children’s shoes, which will be given to local charities after the protest.