Ezra Rodway is approaching an exciting milestone; next September, the three-year-old is due to start at school. However, his mum and dad aren’t ready to celebrate yet because finding an appropriate option is proving difficult, as Ezra is autistic, with substantial support needs.
His parents know that a mainstream school may not be the best place for him to learn; however, they have been told that is where their little boy, who is non-verbal and has pica (an eating disorder that means he eats things not usually considered food), must go.
Fighting for a suitable solution has become such a battle for the family that Ezra’s mum, Belle, felt she had no choice but to quit her NHS job in September 2024.
‘It got to the point where I was advocating for my patients, but I wasn’t able to for my son,’ the 36-year-old tells Metro. ‘Doing all the admin and appeals is a full-time job. Everything has complications, and the first answer to everything, from a blue badge to teaching assistants, is always no.
‘I had to give up the job that I loved. I would do it in a heartbeat for him, but I shouldn’t have had to.’
Ezra’s arrival
Belle explains that she never expected to be in this position of fighting every day for her child, as just a few years ago, she didn’t even think she’d be a mother.
‘In my 20s, I was a Brighton party girl, and a family was not on the horizon. But when I met my husband, Pierce, it was like “Bam, I need a baby”,’ she explains.
At 29, the couple began trying to conceive, but as Belle had polycystic ovary syndrome, it wasn’t easy. ‘Seeing a negative test every month was heartbreaking. I thought it was never going to happen,’ she admits.
After three years, the couple opted to begin IVF, but on the day Belle was supposed to have blood tests to start treatment, they found out she was pregnant. ‘I had to cancel them because of our little miracle baby,’ she says with a smile. ‘It didn’t feel real.’
It was a smooth pregnancy — she even ‘rinsed it’ with two baby showers — and on March 11 2022, Ezra was born. ‘I remember when he came out, Pierce was shouting, “He’s beautiful”, remembers Belle, adding that their little boy was a ‘really easy baby’ who slept through the night and never cried.
‘The newborn stage was one of my favourite parts of motherhood, but in hindsight, that might have been a sign,’ she reflects.
Having worked in children’s services, specifically in mental health, and briefly carrying out speech and language assessments to determine autism diagnosis, Belle was hyper vigilant for these indicators, and so became increasingly worried around his first birthday.
‘He met his milestones, like crawling, walking, pointing, sitting up, and saying “dada”, but then he completely regressed and stopped doing those things. I noticed that he was constantly rocking, which is his way of stimming [a self-stimulating behaviour that can be an autism characteristic].’
After the family highlighted the observations with their health visitor, Ezra received an autism diagnosis when he was two.
‘I was pleased we got it so quickly and it wasn’t a case of adapting, it was all we knew as he was our first child. It felt normal. There is a stigma attached to labels, but for us, he is such a joy. The way he looks at the world, and how he experiences things, we join in with him. It’s so unique and interesting,’ Belle explains.
‘My son can’t put a sentence together or express his needs, but he has this amazing capacity to learn and a thirst for knowledge. He is non-verbal, but that doesn’t mean he is silent; instead, his language isn’t functional. Everything is on his terms, which is usual for autistic children.
‘He’s taught himself how to read because he’s excellent at pattern recognition, so it would be a crying shame for him not to access education.’
The SEND crisis
While the family are finding much happiness at home, the same can’t be said for navigating the outside world. The governmental education committee agrees that a transformation is needed in the schooling of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A new education committee report proposes that SEND becomes an intrinsic part of the mainstream education system, rather than an addition.
The hope is that it would help with the rising number of SEND children. Since the introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014, the number of young people with SEND has risen from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. In 2024/25, over 1.2 million children and young people were receiving SEND support.
Helen Hayes MP said in September: ‘Our report presents a vision for how the Government can realise its laudable aim of making mainstream education inclusive to the vast majority of children and young people with SEND, who are present in every classroom.
‘We also call for an increase in the number of specialist state school places so that more children can be educated close to home, reducing the cost of transport and expensive independent school places.’ In England, approximately £12 billion was spent in 2024/25 on SEND, a figure that has risen by 66% in the last decade.
However, the reality is very different from the proposed plans, and much work remains to be done to tackle the crisis. Talking about her personal experience, Belle says: ‘There’s only one SEND school near us, and it’s in special measures, so they’ve blocked their intake for this year.’
Even if Ezra were able to go, he would need an EHCP; a legally binding document for people aged 0–25 with special educational needs or disabilities, which outlines their needs, the support they require, and their goals across education, health, and social care.
‘The government are cracking down on them, so we’ve been denied twice. As it stands, without the EHCP, his only option is mainstream,’ she adds.
However, Belle claims that the local schools say they can’t accommodate his high safeguarding needs. ‘He will try to run into the road as he isn’t aware of dangers, and will attempt to eat sticks, rocks and toys. At home, we can never take our eyes off him, and he needs the same at school.’
Ezra currently attends both a mainstream nursery and a special needs nursery, dividing time between the two, with the former saying he can stay until five. After that, Belle and Pierce fear they may have to homeschool if a long-term solution is not reached.
‘There is a narrative that people are being overdiagnosed and that everyone can go to mainstream schools. It’s unhelpful, because it’s not always possible,’ explains Belle. ‘I’ve even heard comments like, parents are doing it for the money. What money? I just want my child to have his needs met and rights honoured.’
‘The current system is not working for the government, local authorities, schools, children or families. It’s just a big mess. There definitely needs to be a shake-up, but they need to speak to parents, families and professionals on the frontline because they’re out of touch with what’s going on, and down a rabbit hole of overspending.
‘One solution could be ensuring all teachers are trained in SEND. It’s currently not compulsory, and so not everyone understands how to support.’ England’s former schools minister (July 2024 – September 2025) Catherine McKinnell did pledge that initial teacher training would start to include SEND support.
The future for SEND children
The consequences of not figuring out solutions quickly could be detrimental, warns Belle: ‘It’s a common path that SEND children who don’t get their needs met end up burning out, then they start having mental health problems. These children become adults, and the government has to inherit these issues.’
Battling for their son has been an isolating journey for the family, she adds.
‘I imagine other parents feel the same. Everyone is exhausted.
‘Before I had Ezra, my fear was heights. I don’t have that phobia anymore because I’m so occupied worrying about what life is going to look like when Ezra is an adult, especially if my husband or I aren’t around to advocate for him.’
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