8 hours agoShareSaveGeorgia Roberts,political correspondent and Alex Forsyth,political correspondentShareSaveGetty ImagesThe special educational needs and disabilities system for children in England faces “total collapse” and the government must not “keep ducking” reforms, council leaders have warned.The County Councils Network, which represents some of England’s largest local authorities, said councils had deficits which will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of this parliament in 2029, as they struggled to cope with increased demand.The government has put off planned reforms to the SEND system until next year, and a white paper setting out those reforms was delayed recently.But ministers face pressure from Labour MPs who warn there would be political danger in watering down support for children.SUPPLIEDThe number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) – the legal document entitling children to support from local authorities – has increased, according to the Department for Education.There were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025, up 10.8% on the same point last year. The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747.The County Councils Network (CCN) says one in every 20 children in England could end up needing this kind of support by the end of the decade.Councils have a statutory duty to provide support to children with an EHCP, depending on what the document outlines.The CCN also says demand for EHCPs alone is not the only factor driving spiralling expenditure, with “over-reliance on higher costs placements and special provision” also a factor, including “expensive private school places”.There are now record numbers of pupils in special schools. In England, there are around 194,000 pupils, compared with 109,000 in 2014/15 according to the CNN.The CCN has projected that councils could be spending £8bn on these placements by the end of the decade.SUPPLIEDWhile the government wrestles with provision for children, many families continue to struggle. Amanda Quick, who has a 12-year-old son with ADHD and autism, really appreciates the support at her local Taunton café, set up specifically for parents to bring their children with special educational needs. Amanda’s son Ezra attends a specialist school, but Amanda says she had a long fight with their local authority in Somerset to get him the support he needs.”My mental health took a hit. I couldn’t cope with all the paperwork so I ended up getting a solicitor, which is about £200 an hour,” she said.Claire Naylor, who owns the café, said she felt “dismissed” in trying to get support for her six-year-old son MJ, who has non-verbal autism. “The EHCP process became a real fight and a real battle to get those provisions put in place. We ended up having to go to court which took us over a year,” she says.”We had to spend thousands of pounds on private reports just to prove what we already knew.”We needed him to fail to be able to prove [he needed support] which is a really really sad way of basically being heard and it affected a whole family. We lost friendships, we’ve lost a lot of money and a lot of time.”Budget deficitsThe CCN has called for the council deficits incurred by SEND provision to be written off and for changes to the law to focus EHCPs on those “most in need”.Councillor Bill Revans, Lib Dem leader of Somerset County Council and SEND spokesman for the CCN, said spiralling demand is fuelling the crisis and better inclusion in mainstream schools should be a priority.”The whole system needs looking at, including EHCPs,” he said.”That pressure is unsustainable and it will make the system collapse within this parliament.”All councils that have responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities carry a deficit on their budget which isn’t included on their accounts. “We will have no way of paying that off unless there is a solution from government.”PA MediaBut changing EHCPs is a political …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn8 hours agoShareSaveGeorgia Roberts,political correspondent and Alex Forsyth,political correspondentShareSaveGetty ImagesThe special educational needs and disabilities system for children in England faces “total collapse” and the government must not “keep ducking” reforms, council leaders have warned.The County Councils Network, which represents some of England’s largest local authorities, said councils had deficits which will reach £4.4bn a year by the end of this parliament in 2029, as they struggled to cope with increased demand.The government has put off planned reforms to the SEND system until next year, and a white paper setting out those reforms was delayed recently.But ministers face pressure from Labour MPs who warn there would be political danger in watering down support for children.SUPPLIEDThe number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) – the legal document entitling children to support from local authorities – has increased, according to the Department for Education.There were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025, up 10.8% on the same point last year. The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747.The County Councils Network (CCN) says one in every 20 children in England could end up needing this kind of support by the end of the decade.Councils have a statutory duty to provide support to children with an EHCP, depending on what the document outlines.The CCN also says demand for EHCPs alone is not the only factor driving spiralling expenditure, with “over-reliance on higher costs placements and special provision” also a factor, including “expensive private school places”.There are now record numbers of pupils in special schools. In England, there are around 194,000 pupils, compared with 109,000 in 2014/15 according to the CNN.The CCN has projected that councils could be spending £8bn on these placements by the end of the decade.SUPPLIEDWhile the government wrestles with provision for children, many families continue to struggle. Amanda Quick, who has a 12-year-old son with ADHD and autism, really appreciates the support at her local Taunton café, set up specifically for parents to bring their children with special educational needs. Amanda’s son Ezra attends a specialist school, but Amanda says she had a long fight with their local authority in Somerset to get him the support he needs.”My mental health took a hit. I couldn’t cope with all the paperwork so I ended up getting a solicitor, which is about £200 an hour,” she said.Claire Naylor, who owns the café, said she felt “dismissed” in trying to get support for her six-year-old son MJ, who has non-verbal autism. “The EHCP process became a real fight and a real battle to get those provisions put in place. We ended up having to go to court which took us over a year,” she says.”We had to spend thousands of pounds on private reports just to prove what we already knew.”We needed him to fail to be able to prove [he needed support] which is a really really sad way of basically being heard and it affected a whole family. We lost friendships, we’ve lost a lot of money and a lot of time.”Budget deficitsThe CCN has called for the council deficits incurred by SEND provision to be written off and for changes to the law to focus EHCPs on those “most in need”.Councillor Bill Revans, Lib Dem leader of Somerset County Council and SEND spokesman for the CCN, said spiralling demand is fuelling the crisis and better inclusion in mainstream schools should be a priority.”The whole system needs looking at, including EHCPs,” he said.”That pressure is unsustainable and it will make the system collapse within this parliament.”All councils that have responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities carry a deficit on their budget which isn’t included on their accounts. “We will have no way of paying that off unless there is a solution from government.”PA MediaBut changing EHCPs is a political …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
