Education system is 'failing my SEND child'

A mother has said Jersey's education system is "failing" her child who has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Kerry Marques' 10-year-old son, who she said had high-functioning autism, non-verbal and non-communicative, has not been in school since Christmas.

Marques said she was not sure what would happen in September when he was due to start secondary school and the experience had been a "rough rollercoaster".

The BBC has asked the Education Department for comment. On Friday, the chief minister told the States Assembly it was investing in SEND facilities and staffing but conceded the need to "better understand and get to grips with special educational needs".

Marques said any concerns she had raised about her son's education fell on "deaf ears" so she had decided to take her son out of school.

She said the decision had had a large financial impact on her family because she had to give up her career with Family Nursing and Home Care to be at home with her son.

"It's not about me," she said.

"I've done what any other parent would do, but the system is failing my child."

She said the Education Department was rewriting his record of need - the document which determines how best to support a child with SEND.

Marques said she hoped that would be updated before secondary school began.

She said: "You know the excitement of getting ready for that September start? For us, we don't know what September holds."

Marques said she did not have much hope things would change with a new States Assembly, and said the experience had been "difficult" and "lonely".

But she said the next education minister needed "to look a lot deeper into how families get to crisis points", and this would "save them a lot of money".

Peter Fekete, a tutor and former head of sixth form at Victoria College, has outlined the challenges facing the government.

He said there were "excellent" examples of SEND education in Jersey, but the bigger picture showed "significant strain".

Fekete said: "We need to find small remedies that can make significant improvements to individual children's lives and their parents' experience of education."

Newly-elected Deputy Victoria Li focused much of her campaign on education.

She said: "A lot of change is always about the top organisation, reorganising, but there's no substantial change in the classroom."

Li said parents should not be left to be the "experts" and they should be supported when asking "basic questions".

Deputy Catherine Curtis, who led the Education Scrutiny Panel during the last assembly, said the current situation was not good enough and politicians must make sure children got "the best they deserve".

She said her panel left letters for the next education minister to answer about SEND.

Government figures have shown the cost of supporting children with SEND in the island increased 120% in five years, and the government spent about £38m in 2025.

Former Education Minister Rob Ward previously said the jump showed the government's "continued commitment" to supporting them.

He also said an independent review of SEND provision showed "good practice", but admitted the system did not "consistently deliver the inclusive, high-quality provision that children, young people, and families deserve".

Curtis and Li said the funding was vital, but it was important to look at how it was being used.

Li said: "We are a small jurisdiction.

"If we look at the numbers, we should be able to provide individual support for each individual child and families."

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