67% of Devon Parents Left in the Dark About SEND Support – The Fidget Project Hits the Road to Help

A shocking new survey has revealed that nearly seven in ten parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Devon don’t know what support exists in their area.

As families struggle in silence, The Fidget Project has launched a crowdfunder to deliver urgent, specialist support directly to children and families via support sessions offered in the community via a mobile sensory therapy bus and community hubs..

The local survey, conducted by The Conscious Marketing Group, paints a bleak picture:

● 67.6% of parents are unaware or unsure of existing SEND services.

● 65.8% rate current provision for SEND children as “poor” or “non-existent”

● Just 13.7% say provision is “good”

● 62.6% rate support for parents and families as critically lacking.

“I’m exhausted! My son is challenging and I don’t know the best way to support him. I have no one who can help,” said one parent in the survey.

In response, The Fidget Project is pioneering a three-year pilot that will bring a converted bus equipped with sensory tools and staffed by an Occupational Therapist to schools and community hubs across South Hams and the Education South West Trust.

“Our schools aren’t failing because they don’t care – they’re failing because they aren’t equipped,” said Lynne Tarrab-Snooks, a SEND parent, a veteran educator and psychotherapist who co-founded the project.

“This bus, and access to an SPD specialist, will help bridge that gap and show what meaningful, accessible support looks like for children with Sensory Processing Differences.”

Co-founder Helen-Jane Ridgeway, a trauma specialist and movement therapist, added: “Children are being excluded, labelled, and misunderstood because we don’t create environments that support their needs. We want to change that — with movement, sensory awareness, and care in schools & across the community.”

The project’s approach was welcomed in survey responses, with one parent calling it “an amazing idea... it would help all in the long run as classes can be disrupted a lot with children struggling to regulate emotions.

”Funds raised will pay for the bus, sensory equipment, and delivery of therapeutic support for children who are currently falling through the cracks. The team hopes the project will serve as a blueprint for nationwide SEND reform.

📢 Support the campaign today: https://www.thefidgetproject.co.uk/qr