The government is facing a mounting pressure to fix its broken Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. This urgency arrives while current spending is projected to reach £12 billion this year. In particular, ministers have now had a resounding early warning. If they fail to take bold action, the costs could increase by up to £3 billion per year by 2029. Currently, one in five students in England are given special educational needs support. That’s nearly 1.7 million kids gaining access to this critical help directly in their schools.
Seven-year-old Finley has made a successful transition into a Year 2 classroom setting. He benefits from Launchpad, an innovative center purpose-built for children with SEND that customizes educational experiences to meet individual needs. His mother, Claire, expressed her pride in his progress, stating, “Getting to the point where Finley has made all this progress, I could burst with pride.”
3 in 10 pupils need more intensive support, according to new National Assessment of Educational Progress data. Almost half a million children ‒ 5.3% of all pupils ‒ are on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Having these plans allows them to tap into more specialized and refined support. Readily available evidence undercuts claims that costs of these provisions are large. The cost of a place at a state special school is on average £23,900 per year compared with independent special schools which costs around £61,500 a year.
Colby, a second child with SEND, has had a great three years at Littlecoates Primary Academy in Grimsby in the Launchpad resource. This program serves 12 students from reception through Year 2 who need extra individualized attention. His mother, Angela Mawer, shared her sense of relief upon discovering a mainstream setting that catered to Colby’s needs. “It’s really sad that I should have to feel like that,” she said about the challenges faced by parents seeking adequate support for their children.
Experts in the field have underscored the importance of properly training mainstream school staff to better support children with diverse needs. Kate Cowdroy highlighted this issue, stating, “I don’t feel like mainstream staff have got the right training to be able to deal with some of the special needs of the children.” Her other point, which we’ve heard from other witnesses as well, was that schools don’t have the funding to put those resources in place. “The reality is a lot of schools haven’t got funding like this available to them,” Cowdroy added.
The government has a steep hill to climb. The government has promised to release its own reform proposals for the SEND system in the coming weeks. If we don’t get this right, there will be a further 220,000 children and young people needing EHCPs by 2029. SEND’s total debt is expected to climb to £5 billion next year if no changes are made.
Georgia Gould, a spokesperson on education policy, emphasized that there must always be a legal right to additional support for children with special needs. Advocates continue to worry lobbyists will define the contours of what’s adequate. Angela Mawer remarked, “There isn’t enough provision for children like Colby,” stressing the need for more comprehensive support systems.
As families continue to face these complex obstacles, the need for reform is more urgent than ever. The cost of inaction is extremely high. Not only does it destroy efficiency in government budgets, but it irremediably upsets the lives of millions of children who rely on critical educational resources.
