'Postcode lottery' means children with special needs miss out on vital support

The crisis in special needs education could mean a “lost generation of children” leave school without having received the help they need, an inquiry found. The dire warning from the Commons Public Accounts Committee earlier this year highlights why the Government is considering radical changes to special needs education, known as SEND, despite the prospect of a major rebellion by Labour MPs.

A report highlighted a postcode lottery with some families finding it much easier than others to get an education, health and care (EHC) plan, which guarantees support for their child. But it also found the current system was threatening to make councils bankrupt, and the gap between the amount councils spend on special needs and the funding they get from central government would reach £4.6 billion in 2026. The inquiry said this was “impacting their wider finances and potentially causing nearly half of English local authorities to be at risk of effectively going bankrupt”.

Sir Keir Stamer faces another political nightmare as campaigners have urged him to scrap proposals, widely expected to be confirmed later this year, to limit the number of children getting education, health and care plans. Labour MPs are likely to oppose the plan.

Around 1.7 million school pupils in England have special educational needs and many receive support set out in an education, health and care plan, following an assessment carried out by their local council.

But fewer than half of plans are issued within the legal limit of 20 weeks.

Official figures show that families registered 21,106 appeals against decisions made by local councils about special needs provision in the 2023-24 academic year - up by 54% on the previous year.

The House of Commons Education Committee is holding an inquiry into the crisis and heard evidence from organisations including the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice, a charity which provides legal advice to parents. Georgina Downard, one the the charity’s senior solicitors, told the inquiry that councils should face “consequences” when they fail to provide suitable help.

She said: “The key to resolving the current situation lies in ensuring local authorities comply with their duties to children and young people with special educational needs, which, to be clear, do not entitle them to anything more than what they need.

“Local authorities should be expected to make lawful decisions about assessment and provision for children and young people with SEND and face consequences when they do not.”

She added: “The onus should not be on parents to fight for what their child needs and what they are entitled to and go through the lengthy appeals referred to. It would not be if local authorities were adequately resourced and if they made decisions in line with the law the first time around.”

The number of children with an education, health and care plan or equivalent statement of special educational needs has shot up from 240,000 in January 2015 to 576,000 in January 2024.

But the National Audit Office said in a report: “Families and children lack confidence in a Special Educational Needs system that often falls short of statutory and quality expectations. Stakeholders told us that insufficient capacity, and long waiting times, contributed to low parental confidence.”