27/09/2026
The trailer for Unauthorised Absence Film has just been released and it promises a film that will shine a cold, hard light on our current SEND crisis, school attendance fines and the urgent need to put children back at the heart of education.
Written by Jo Clayton (a SEND parent herself) and backed by a team of psychologists, lawyers and education experts, the film has one clear mission: to expose the devastating emotional cost of current attendance policies and demand systemic reform.
The story follows a mother trapped in an impossible dilemma. She is torn between protecting her autistic daughter —who is experiencing severe school-induced distress-and complying with a rigid system that mistakes trauma for defiance. Instead of receiving support from the institutions designed to help, she faces blame, fines, and threats of prosecution, pushing both mother and child to breaking point.
At Clear View Education, we know this heartbreaking reality is all too familiar for many Dorset SEND families. By bringing this hidden struggle to light, aims to:
💡Spark vital change: Engage policymakers and education leaders in urgent reform.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Validate families: Help struggling parents feel seen, heard and supported.
🌍 Build public understanding: Educate those outside the SEND community on the crises happening behind closed doors.
❤️ But most importantly to remind all of us that work with SEN children, that we need to meet them with curiosity, empathy and tailored support, rather than punishment.
🎥 Will you be watching the film? 🤔
Vikki Slade 4 Mid Dorset & North Poole Simon H***e MP Edward Morello MP, West Dorset Lloyd Hatton MP for South Dorset Adam Dance - MP for Yeovil and South Somerset