Families pushed to the brink - why is SEND provision in crisis?
Welcome to the ITV News digest bringing you the best of our original journalism, insight and analysis from across the nation and regions.
Hi, I'm Neil Barbour and I'm a content editor at ITV News Anglia. I've been leading on our Spotlight on SEND coverage across ITV News - which reveals the true scale of the crisis in the Special Educational Needs system.
Anyone with any knowledge of the SEND system knows it's broken. I've been looking into the crisis for six years now, ever since my daughter was diagnosed as autistic, and the chorus of calls for change is only getting louder.
It led to our project where across every ITV newsroom in the UK, we've exposed the cost and consequences of an education system that’s failing some of the most vulnerable children in society.
Working together with correspondents right across England, Wales, Northern Ireland, on Good Morning Britain and on our network news we've revealed the families being failed, pushed into court, and to the brink of mental and financial collapse.
On TV, online, and on ITVX we've heard from the parents of an autistic teenager who have had the police at the door; seen the growing number of children excluded from school, and told the story of the children scarred by school.
This ambitious coverage exposes a worrying truth: while most parents of neurotypical children can reasonably expect an education for their child, for those whose children have special educational needs this is not guaranteed.
You can see reports from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland on ITVX, and you can listen to ITV News' What You Need To Know podcast now.
ITV News investigation reveals shocking scale of special educational needs crisis across UK
Exclusive research for ITV News Regions and Nations reveals the cost and consequences of an education system that is failing some of the most vulnerable children in society.
In a far-reaching investigation, ITV News’ exclusive poll combined with its largest-ever Freedom of Information project reveals:
Nearly a third of parents (30%) have had to use the legal system to get their children the right provision;
Over half of children (58%) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met;
36% of those children spent between a month and a year out of school, while 7% had spent more than a year out;
ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker met the mother of five-year-old Lucas who had special educational needs and had been permanently excluded from primary school.
Jo Ellis, from West Yorkshire, said that instead of giving Lucas the right support to cope in the classroom, he was seen as a "problem" and expelled because it was the "easy option". She added a ‘broken’ system has failed her son. Watch the piece here.
Tabloids on Trial: The impact of phone hacking as told by those affected
An ITV documentary this week saw a host of famous faces speaking to ITV News Correspondent Rebecca Barry about their experiences with phone hacking.
Hugh Grant, Charlotte Church, Paul Gascoigne and Gordon Brown featured in the programme, in many cases sharing their stories for the first time. You can catch up with it on ITV X here.
Prince Harry says he 'won't bring' Meghan Markle back to UK over safety fears
The documentary also featured Prince Harry revealing has said he fears negative tabloid narratives around his family could lead to a knife or acid attack against Meghan Markle, were she to return to the United Kingdom.
Explaining his belief that certain narratives in the press pose a genuine threat to his family, he said: "All it takes is for one lone actor who reads this stuff to act on what they've read.
"And whether it's a knife or acid, these are things that are genuine concerns for me. It's one of the reasons why I won't bring my wife back to this country." See the interview here.
Biden calls on America to 'preserve our democracy' in defining speech
As Tom Bradby described on News at Ten this week, the power shift in Washington felt like it had turned “on its axis” following Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the Presidential race and endorse Kamal Harris.
Our US Correspondent Dan Rivers wrote after President Biden’s White House address, his legacy is now bookended by two decisions: running because he felt the fate of the Republic was at stake, and walking away because he knew he wasn’t the best person to defend it.
All week ITV News has been presenting News at Ten from Washington as its correspondents criss-crossed the States following the story with International Editor Emma Murphy spending time in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state. She ended the week analysing whether Kamala Harris could win over swing voters in time.
You can catch how the team summed up another week of momentous events in the US on the latest edition of our Talking Politics USA podcast.
‘We’re going to see a death’ - stark warning as vapes spiked with Spice in England's schools
An exclusive investigation from the ITV News West Country team uncovered the scale of vaping in schools, with the worrying revelation that vapes spiked with Spice and THC had been found in schools.
It also found that found thousands of teachers from across England are warning that vaping in schools is causing widespread issues with children's behaviour and health.
See here for some of the stories in the series:
The scale of the issue revealed with kids as young as five vaping
‘We’re going to see a death’ - stark warning as vapes spiked with Spice in England's schools
What is vape spiking? How THC and ‘zombie’ drug Spice are ending up in schoolchildren’s vapes
Thousands take to streets in Mallorca to protest against over-tourism
For many of us it’s time to pack the trunks for a Summer getaway. However in recent years many of our favourite holiday destinations have become unhappy with the wave of tourists coming to their homes every summer.
A slew of anti-tourism protests have taken place in Spain in recent months.
Tourism represents nearly 12% of Spain’s economy, but locals have started pressuring governments to put measures in place to reduce the number of visitors.
The number of tourists visiting the country increased by almost 20% between 2022 and 2023, with the hotspots being in Catalonia, the Balearics, and the Canary Islands.
James Mates brought us this dispatch from the scene of the latest protests in Mallorca.
'We are the example to never give up': Refugee Olympic Team on their journey to Paris 2024
Paris got into the Olympic spirit with none other than Snoop Dogg carrying the torch through its streets ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.
As athletes from across the world are preparing to represent their respective nations at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, a team with something other than nationality in common is ready to make its mark.
The Refugee Olympic Team - comprised of 37 athletes from 15 different countries - has been putting the final training in ahead of its third Olympics.
The 2024 cohort is the largest yet, reflecting the growing number of refugees globally. The team represents more than 100 million displaced people.
ITV News caught up with some of those inspiring tales here.