{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T01:22:43Z","timestamp":1790644963517,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1762473600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007602","name":"Programme Grants for Applied Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NIHR202025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR202025"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007602","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100018956","name":"NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NIHR203312"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR203312"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100018956","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100023699","name":"Health Data Research UK","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["LOND1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LOND1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100023699","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Administrative Data Research, UK","award":["ES\/V000977\/1, ES\/X003663\/1, ES\/X000427\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ES\/V000977\/1, ES\/X003663\/1, ES\/X000427\/1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The UK government is currently seeking solutions to solve the \u2018SEND Crisis\u2019 in England to improve service provision and children\u2019s outcomes. Parents play a central role in the identification of their children\u2019s needs and support requirements and can provide valuable insight into SEND system functioning. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 22 parents in identifying their children\u2019s needs, securing provision, and its perceived impact on the child and family. Participants\u2019 children had a range of SEND types, including autism, learning disabilities, and mental health problems. We used one-to-one interviews in conjunction with drawn life \u2018timelines\u2019 to gain a comprehensive picture of participants\u2019 experiences of engaging with the system over time. Thematic framework analysis identified legal protections and the advocacy efforts of parents and professionals as key enablers. Barriers included professionals\u2019 lack of understanding about SEND (particularly autism), poor communication between services and families, and system failures. Positive outcomes parents attributed to SEND provision included health, education and social improvements, and young people gaining autonomy and independence. Perceived negative outcomes included lost educational opportunities, worsening mental health for children and their parents, and educational policies lacking long-term vision. We provide narrative portraitures which echo these themes. Our study suggests that solving the SEND crisis will require multiple actions, not only to repair fractured relationships and improve communication between professionals and families, but standardisation of key processes to reduce unfair variation in provision. The current system heavily depends on advocates within it, which can inadvertently harm parents who engage with it; children without advocates are at risk of missing out on much needed provision. Our study also demonstrates that provision can substantially improve children\u2019s health, education and belonging in society. The government\u2019s goal should be to ensure that this level of effective provision is accessible for all children with SEND.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0335606","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T18:47:39Z","timestamp":1762541259000},"page":"e0335606","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Barriers, enablers and outcomes reported by parents engaged with the special educational needs system in England: A qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4353-0653","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Saxton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0637-2118","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anne-Marie","family":"Burn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinhe","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hilary","family":"Toulmin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8605-9988","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Parker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen","family":"Casey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacob","family":"Matthews","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Isaac","family":"Winterburn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0284-0301","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Charlotte","family":"Tripp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Barnes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Poppy","family":"Hall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristine","family":"Black-Hawkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0335-347X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hayley","family":"Gains","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tamsin","family":"Ford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"(The HOPE Study)","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0335606.ref001","author":"Department for Education","year":"2024"},{"key":"pone.0335606.ref002","unstructured":"National Audit Office. 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SEND and alternative provision improvement plan. 2023."},{"key":"pone.0335606.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Natspec. How young people with special educational needs and disabilities find out about their post-16 options. 2021.","DOI":"10.12968\/cypn.2021.10.27"},{"key":"pone.0335606.ref045","unstructured":"Special Educational Consortium. Making the SEND system work for 16 to 25-year-olds: priority issues and solutions to be considered in SEND review and reform. 2019."}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335606","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T18:47:45Z","timestamp":1762541265000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335606"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Ramandeep","family":"Kaur","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335606","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]}}}