Official condemnation of the Department for Education’s tone-deaf SEND promotional material.
By Caroline Harroe (CEO)
As Chief Executive Officer of Harmless, an organisation on the frontline of self harm and suicide prevention, I am compelled to issue this urgent policy response to express our profound disgust regarding the Department for Education’s new Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) promotional films featuring Gemma Collins.
At a time when children, young people and their families are being systematically failed by a collapsing support infrastructure, the decision to reduce the profound, daily struggles of navigating the SEND system to a superficial, celebrity-driven publicity stunt is deeply offensive. This campaign represents a grotesque whitewashing of the statutory rights of disabled and neurodivergent children. It ignores the reality of a system defined by unlawful delays, gatekeeping and a systemic rationing of vital educational and clinical resources.
For thousands of families across the United Kingdom, navigating the SEND crisis is not a joke, nor is it a reality television storyline. It is a gruelling, exhausting battle for basic survival. We operate in a reality where the prolonged trauma of being denied adequate educational support, combined with the isolation of school exclusion and institutional neglect, directly contributes to severe mental health crises. Tragically, in our line of work, we see firsthand that when the system fails these young people entirely, suicide becomes a devastating reality. To treat this landscape as a laughing matter is an insult to every family who has lost a child to this systemic failure.
The Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson, has presided over a campaign that resembles a cheap soap opera rather than a serious, trauma-informed government strategy. This production is a disgrace. It demonstrates a complete detachment from the lived experiences of families fighting for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and appropriate school placements.
Harmless stands in solidarity with families, self-advocates and fellow sector organisations in demanding the following immediate actions:
1. An Immediate Apology
The Department for Education must issue a full and unreserved public apology to the families and young people who have been deeply offended and marginalised by these posts.
2. The Immediate Withdrawal of the Campaign
All promotional materials associated with this tone-deaf campaign must be permanently removed from government channels.
3. Accountability at the Ministerial Level
Due to the profoundly distasteful nature of this campaign and the clear lack of judgment shown in its oversight, we join calls from across the sector for the resignation of the Minister responsible.
Government policy regarding vulnerable children requires rigorous funding, structural reform, and deep empathy – not trivialisation. Harmless will continue to advocate for the rights and lives of SEND youth, and we demand that the government treat their futures with the gravity they deserve.
