The Unsigned Shirts for SEND School Leavers 2025'

by SEN Parent Support Group

The Unsigned Shirt: What Happens When SEMH & Communication Needs Are Missed?

There’s a heart breaking poignancy in the unsigned leavers shirt. For children with neurodivergent profiles, particularly those with unmet Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and Communication & Interaction needs, it’s more than an overlooked gesture it’s a quiet echo of exclusion, simply because that unsigned shirt tells the story of every birthday party not invited to, every classroom misunderstanding, every moment a child quietly shuts down while the system says they’re “coping fine.” It’s a tangible symbol of what happens when environments don’t offer true belonging or real inclusivity.

---

When Needs Are Unseen

SEMH and communication needs must be addressed in situ not retrofitted or outsourced beyond the child’s everyday environment. When they’re missed, the fallout is personal, relational, and systemic:

• Fragmented identity: Children may internalize a sense of being “too much” or “not enough.”
• Social invisibility: They’re physically present but emotionally and socially disconnected.
• Masked distress: Shutdowns replace meltdowns and are too often mistaken for resilience.
• Developmental delay: Without structured interaction and regulation support, relational milestones stall.

---

When Holistic Support Is Absent

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, SEND Code of Practice, and Equality Act 2010, support isn’t optional it’s a legal obligation. But when therapeutic and holistic support is missing:

• Emotional wellbeing deteriorates.
• Children disengage socially, academically, and relationally.
• Statutory duties are breached, and outcomes are unequal by design.

---

What Holistic Support Should Look Like

Element	What It Should Include
📚 Curriculum Integration	Emotion coaching, peer modeling, co-regulation strategies
👩‍⚕️ Multi-agency Input	SLT, OT, EP input that’s consistent, embedded, and enforced
💬 Communication Scaffolds	Visuals, scripts, sensory-safe language use
🛡️ Trusted Relationships	Staff trained in trauma-informed care, routines that protect & empower
📘 Legally Robust EHCPs	Specified, quantified support, not vague promises

---

❤️ SEN Parent Support Group™: A Community That Sees What Others Miss

The unsigned shirt represents our children the very children at the heart of SEN Parent Support Group™. Children who are bright, kind, funny, capable yet face an educational experience devoid of belonging, not through lack of potential, but because systems failed to accommodate their difference with dignity.

That shirt reflects a journey lived by thousands of families in our community. It’s why we fight. It’s why we create resources, provide mentoring, train parents, and empower voices that systems too often silence.

We don’t believe in silent suffering. We believe in statutory enforcement, practical advocacy, and creating environments where neurodivergent children thrive not just survive.

---

What Needs to Change

• Recognise shutdowns as cries for help, not signs of wellbeing.
• Make therapeutic input part of the school day, not an outsourced optional extra.
• Move from access to active inclusion where children belong.
• Hold schools and authorities to account through statutory challenge not wishful thinking.

---

📢 Fighting for Statutory Integrity: Join the SEN Parent Support Group™ Movement
As imminent statutory changes begin to shape decisions within schools and local authorities, SEN Parent Support Group™ is taking action. We’re leveraging the collective power of over 21,000+ families to challenge proposals that risk undermining legally mandated support under the Children and Families Act 2014, Equality Act 2010, and SEND Code of Practice. Through targeted campaign letters, tribunal-prep resources, and CPD-accredited parent training, we’re holding councils and policymakers to account demanding transparency, enforceability, and equity.

💥 You can get involved by letting us hear your voice Here so that every voice is heard when the white paper for SEND reform is made public by the DofE. The time to act is now because statutory dilution affects real children, real families, and long-term outcomes. Together, we enforce rights not just request them.

For renowned support and free resources Join our Group – Start your journey to empowerment!

Find our closed group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/438202318539240/

---