When you look back and reflect, how much of what you do and what you manage is intense? Life and all that goes with it is filled with opportunity yet shadowed by uncomfortable truths.

Across the country, dedicated colleagues share stories that weigh heavy: children with profound needs navigating systems that simply cannot hold them. Funding applications rejected, support withdrawn, futures compromised. These aren’t statistics – they’re young lives entangled in bureaucratic impossibility.

The daily reality for many is stark. Children carrying complex trauma arrive each morning to schools across the country straining under impossible demands. Staff who genuinely care absorb the impact, too often literally—of young people whose distress manifests in dysregulation and despair. Worryingly, conversations now suggest it is accepted.

Meanwhile, leaders courageously transforming inadequate provision face unwarranted criticism rather than support, their commitment to improvement somehow becoming grounds for attack. Throw away lines written or remarks made that pass the buck.

Yet within this brokenness, something vital persists: people who refuse to look away. Educators who show up despite exhaustion. Leaders who hold their ground. Communities determined that every child matters, regardless of what failing systems suggest.

The solution lies not in acceptance but in collective voice. We must amplify these stories until policy-makers cannot ignore them. Adequate funding isn’t negotiable – it’s essential. Systemic overhaul isn’t radical – it’s overdue.

This reflection isn’t about blame but about clarity: recognising what’s broken whilst refusing despair. Our colleagues deserve support, not silence. Our children deserve systems that actually work. And those leading positive change deserve protection, not persecution.
The path forward demands honesty about present challenges and unified determination toward better.

Together, we can transform frustration into advocacy, exhaustion into momentum, and broken systems into ones genuinely fit for every child we serve.