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'It is nice to feel like you are not being judged'

BBC/Amy Holmes A picture of two women. On the left is a woman with short dark hair, parted on one side, who is wearing a dark red fleece. On the right is a woman with shoulder length light brown hair, wearing a black t-shirt with a giraffe on it.BBC/Amy Holmes
Rachel Lenton (left) set up the group in the coffee shop she runs, her friend Emma is also a regular

Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bedfordshire have praised a group that has been set up in a cafe to support them.

Rachel Lenton, who runs Marston Beans in Marston Moretaine and has a child with additional needs, said she wanted to "listen to what people were going through" and create "a group where people can come and vent".

The group supports families whose children are in the SEND systems in both Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Council areas.

One of them, Becki, who has a seven year old boy with ADHD, said it was the "only coffee shop she could bring her dysregulated child to" who is "literally climbing on the tables and throwing things and be told it was ok".

BBC/Amy Holmes A group picture of sixteen people, mainly women, with a Christmas tree on the right hand side.BBC/Amy Holmes
The drop-in cafe has been running for three months in Marston Moretaine

Becki added that "when you say something here, people just give you that knowing look and are not trying to solve your problems with answers all the time which can be upsetting".

The BBC reported how Central Bedfordshire Council has had to deal with an increase in demand for SEND provision. Independent Leader Adam Zerny told the BBC the number of children requiring SEND provision nationally was about 1.6 million, and "that's increased by 100,000 in a year".

The authority has opened a new special needs block at Sandy Secondary School and Mr Zerny said it was looking at all provision options when it sets its 2025/26 budget which will be agreed in February.

Kayleigh has only visited the group twice but said it was "really nice to come somewhere and feel like you are not being judged and you can say how rough your day has been".

BBC/Amy Holmes A picture of three women sat on a sofa. The one on the left has dark blonde shoulder length hair, a cream fleece and is holding a coffee cup in her right hand. In the middle is a blonde woman with her hair tied back, who is wearing a white fleece with the letters ADA on. On the right is a woman with light brown shoulder length hair with a black t-shirt.BBC/Amy Holmes
Kristina (pictured in the middle of the group, with Becki on the left and Emma on the right) says she gets great support and advice in the group

Kristina does not have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for her daughter yet, but said "everyone is on different parts of the journey so can offer support and advice".

Emma, who has a daughter in a mainstream school with an autism provision, said: "Everyone is just lovely and we chat and there is no judgement."

She added that "the group gets it and are there with you".

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