Everyone agrees that England’s special educational needs (SEND) system is broken. Earlier this year, the government said so itself. It argued that the current system does not “lead to better educational or life outcomes”, “leaves too many families fighting for support”, and that “too much time (is) wasted on bureaucracy rather than supporting children and young people.” One of the key proposed changes Labour made is that, by 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for Educational Health Care Plans (EHCPs): a legal document that mandates additional support and funding for a child with additional needs.
If this government is serious about reform, it must be honest with parents as well as schools
Yet the pressures on this over-saturated system show no signs of alleviating: quite the opposite. Since the government proposed these reforms in April, headteachers and council leaders have seen an “unreal” surge in applications for EHCPs, and are anticipating that the proportion of students with one could double to one in ten. Bill Revans, the County Councils Network’s spokesperson on SEND and the Liberal Democrat leader of Somerset council, said, “Our previous analysis had predicted the number of EHCPs will rise to 840,000 by 2028-29, however, it is now likely these numbers will be exceeded.”
