Project UP: A glimpse into What Parents Have Told Us (so far)
Families who engage with us often arrive after long periods of uncertainty. Their concerns about learning, emotional wellbeing, or behaviour may have been raised repeatedly, yet meaningful support has not followed. For many, the experience of seeking help is shaped not only by bureaucracy, but by how their child and their parenting and culture are interpreted within educational spaces.
Our research is designed to centre around the lived experiences of Black children and their families navigating the SEND system and an exploratory review of the dynamic assessment approach. Through in-depth conversations with parents, the project has revealed how structural inequality, bias, and misrecognition shape access to support.
Behaviour Is Often Treated as a Problem Instead of a Communication Style
Many parents told us that their child’s difficulties were quickly framed as behavioural. Rather than asking what the child might be communicating, some schools focused first on control, discipline, or compliance and when the child could not do what was ordered of them, they were suspended or excluded. Children whose communication styles, emotional expression, or self-regulation differ from ‘typical’ classroom norms (such as sitting still for extended periods, taking turns to speak, regulating emotional responses, following instructions promptly, and engaging with tasks in a quiet and focused manner) are more likely to be scrutinised.
Parents described:
Labels such as “defiant (openly resisting or refusing to obey authority, rules, or expectations; showing bold disobedience),” “disruptive (causing interruption or disorder, particularly to a process, environment, or group dynamic),” or “challenging (presenting difficulties or demands; often used as a softer, more euphemistic way to describe behaviour that is hard to manage)”
Meetings centred on sanctions rather than support
Behaviour charts replacing assessment or understanding their needs
What parents can ask
“What assessments have been carried out to understand this behaviour?”
“Could this behaviour be a response to unmet needs?”
“How are cultural factors being considered in your interpretation?”
Behaviour is information — and like all information, it is interpreted through a lens. What is read as disruptive or defiant is often measured against neurotypical norms, meaning Black neurodivergent children are disproportionately judged by a standard that was never built for them.
Families Often Encounter Gatekeeping When Seeking Assessments
A consistent theme has been parents facing resistance when they need access to support. Parents described delays, vague thresholds, refusals without clarification, and changing criteria for support.
Parents reported:
Being told needs were “not significant enough”
Long and unexplained waiting lists
Feedback that contradicted home-based evidence
Repeated deferral of referrals
Why this pattern persists
Assessment systems under pressure rely heavily on thresholds and professional judgement. Where bias shapes how concern is interpreted, some families experience greater scepticism and less urgency.
What parents can do
Request written explanations for all refusals
Ask which criteria were applied
Keep copies of all reports, emails, and logs
Don’t give up!
Delays should not happen when a child is struggling in their school environment.
Breakdowns in Communication
Many parents described feeling ignored, dismissed, or silenced when trying to engage with their child’s school. Communication was often slow and inconsistent, or framed in ways that reduced the legitimacy of parental concern. Whose voice is believed, whose knowledge is trusted, and whose concerns are prioritised are not neutral processes.
Common experiences included:
Unanswered emails
Cancelled or delayed meetings
Being advised to “wait and see” despite escalating need
Being labelled “overly anxious” for raising issues
What parents can do
Keep interaction in writing
Request clear, dated action plans
Attend meetings with an advocate, friend, or family member.
Persistence is not conflict. It is care.
Narrow Expectations Shape How Black Children Are Interpreted
Parents frequently described how their child’s behaviour and presentation, did not align with the unspoken idea of the “ideal pupil.” When a child falls outside this expectation, a deviation is more likely to be treated as disruption. When children are judged against what society has classed as norms, genuine SEND needs can be misread as attitude, defiance, or poor parenting.
Parents observed:
Emotional expression read as anger
Direct communication seen as rudeness
Cultural norms misinterpreted as poor behaviour
Increased discipline compared to peers
A disproportion of sanctions or consequences compared to their peers
What parents can ask
“How are staff supported to recognise SEND across diverse backgrounds?”
Parents Recognise Needs Earlier Than Systems Do
Project UP clearly shows that families often notice concerns long before schools formally respond. Many parents were advised to delay action despite their ongoing concerns. Early support protects the child’s well-being, self-esteem and development, which allows them to actively and authentically engage in learning in the school environment. Delayed recognition increases the likelihood of school distress, emotional harm, and disengagement from school and then education all together and can force Black children into the school to prison pipeline.
What parents can do
Keep structured logs of observations
Request early screening from school
Document home–school variation in behaviour
Speak with other professionals outside of school
Speak with other parents
Read the key policies on behaviour, teaching and learning, exclusion, SEND, Safeguarding etc.
Project UP shows that the challenges families face when it comes to their Black children in the SEND system are not random.
If these experiences resonate with you, you are not alone, and you are not imagining the barriers.