When campaigning to become an MP, I heard about the struggles parents face when trying to get support for their children with Special Educational Needs (SEND). During the past few months, I have seen just how far reaching the crisis is.
I have listened to distraught parents, and visited schools in my constituency, hearing from staff of the challenges they face serving children with additional learning needs. But I know from fellow MPs, this is a national problem, and the system is close to breaking point. How have we got here; is it because we have a system that, politically, prioritises short-term solutions? Is it the lack of funding? Is it because we have a complex education system of local authority schools, academies, and private schools? Is it because families and schools are working with a myriad of under-resourced and overstretched health and social care agencies? The reality is a patchwork of all these, leading to anguished parents and, most importantly of all, children who deserve so much better.
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are designed to ensure appropriate additional support is available for children and young people in school and college. However, Initiating the process can be adversarial and stressful for families as they navigate a labyrinthine system to secure the resources their child needs – be this their named school, additional adult support, access to resources or a particular programme such as physiotherapy. Over the past decade, the number of EHCPs in Oxfordshire has doubled from 3,000 to nearly 7,000, mirroring a 140% increase nationally. Councils are legally required to issue EHCPs within 20 weeks of a request, yet, nationally, only 50.3% of new plans meet this timeframe. Even when EHCPs are approved, schools lack the resources to implement them. This may lead to further conflict, with families challenging local authorities through tribunals— an emotionally and financially draining process.
Local councils often bear the brunt of blame for failures. But these authorities are hamstrung by chronic underfunding and conflicting directives. Despite funding for SEN provision increasing, it has failed to keep pace with the growing demand. Schools are left with impossible choices, balancing the needs of SEN pupils with broader demands of their whole school community. Oxfordshire’s high needs block deficit is projected to reach £77.1 million, contributing to a national deficit of around £4 billion. The Chancellor’s additional £1billion funding clearly doesn’t go far enough to meet this financial gap.
It’s obvious there is no easy solution. When I asked the Minister of State for Education, Catherine McKinnell, about these challenges, she agreed with me that what we need is a long-term solution: with a continuing shift towards inclusive education, early intervention, and enhanced support in mainstream schools. Although we are hearing of reforms, we urgently need to see action.
I have seen schools, such as Willowcroft in Didcot, where they provide children with incredible support. But St Blaise Primary School in Milton told me of the “postcode lottery” of services available to families. They are unable to access mental health support teams, despite similar support being available to children in nearby areas. In some authorities, vast sums of money are spent sending pupils to private schools, sometimes out of their own county because there are too few appropriate local places. Too many families, and schools are unable to get the help they desperately need, and this should not be affected by where they live.
There is no obvious silver bullet but increasing SEND funding is a moral imperative to ensure every child has the right to an education that meets their needs. The process for securing EHCPs and support must be simplified and made more transparent as parents should not have to become legal experts to advocate for their children. Finally, there needs to be a cultural shift in how SEND support is viewed in society. It must be seen as a fundamental part of creating a fair and equitable society. I look forward to seeing the Education Select committee’s finding from their survey, and more importantly, to seeing changes nationally, led by those with the expertise to make a real difference for young people and families.
Let’s End the SEND Crisis; Our Children Deserve Better
