Every now and then a topic captures the public’s imagination and rightly generates much-needed debate. A year ago, everyone was talking about the Post Office Horizon scandal and finally asking important questions about how this had been allowed to happen.
But hardly anyone in power seemed to be talking about special educational needs.
Then a parent contacted me and told me about an awful, utterly broken system that was destroying children’s and families’ lives. She opened my eyes to a world where local authorities were not only failing, but often fighting families who were just asking for the help and support they needed, deserved and were entitled to for their children to achieve their full potential.
At the time, I wasn’t yet an MP, just a local county and city councillor, but my role as an opposition member on Essex County Council’s People and Families (PAF) scrutiny committee meant that I had a particular interest in the welfare of children and families – as well as a platform to ask the questions I knew needed to be voiced, especially after talking with more parents and education professionals.
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are documents issued by local authorities setting out what additional support a child or young person should receive. They were first introduced by the 2014 Children and Families Act and replaced ‘Statements of Special Educational Needs’. They are usually requested by parents or schools who suspect that a young person aged 0-25 may have additional needs. Local authorities have six weeks to decide whether to carry out an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (an EHCNA) and then a total of 20 weeks to issue the resulting EHCP. Much of the time, that isn’t happening.
A March 2024 meeting of Essex’s PAF committee first revealed that Essex County Council was the worst performing council in the country for issuing EHCPs, with only 0.9% being issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. Across England, that figure is better at about 50%, but still far from where it needs to be. In September 2024, the Government published figures showing that 37.4% of EHCPs are taking six months or more to issue across England, although in Essex that figure is 96.8%. That’s appalling, but it gets worse.
Parents are entitled to appeal a local authority’s decision not to issue an EHCP or the provision detailed within it. Appealing means going to the First Tier Tribunal, which can be a lengthy, stressful and costly process. Most appeals require a year-long wait before they are heard, with both sides having to put together their cases, during which time, children are often not getting the support they need.
For a lot of parents, this can be their first experience of the legal system, so if they can afford it, they may employ solicitors to represent them, sometimes at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds. Others choose the cheaper option of using parent advocates or even represent themselves. Local authorities, meanwhile, are frequently using barristers and even King’s Counsels to fight parents, all at the expense of the public purse. But here’s the kicker: local authorities are losing tribunals 99% of the time (up from 98% and 96% in previous years).
Something is seriously wrong with a system where that happens.
I was pleased to bring more attention to this subject in a Westminster Hall debate on 22nd January. It was most of the well-attended debates of this Parliament, with 34 MPs registered to speak from across the House. Many spoke passionately of the terrible effect this broken system is having on their constituents and the education system.
I’m pleased the government is now listening and I’m happy to see the Education Select Committee investigating this issue, but my plea to the minister was to implement reforms as soon as possible. Children can’t wait for government reviews – they keep growing up, and the longer they do that without the support they need, the harder it will be for them to achieve their full potential. We cannot and must not accept that. I’ll keep fighting for change – I hope others will too.
You can watch the whole debate on Parliament TV here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/ac9dbf38-91f5-4292-bdaf-bd851b0eec96
Parents can’t wait any longer, it’s time to reform the system that is failing children with special education needs
