Families consider EHCPs as the only means of securing support for their children, resulting in a huge spike in assessments in the past decade, according to a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
An inclusion task force, set up by the IPPR in the summer to look into the SEND system, found that thousands of children were being left without support because less than half of all EHCPs were being issued within the statutory 20-week period.
Fewer than 47% of EHCPs were issued within the legal time scale and for one in 14 young people the wait was longer than a year.
The report revealed that the number of EHCP needs assessments conducted by local authorities has increased by 250% between 2013 and 2024. Last year alone, 105,240 young people underwent an EHCP needs assessment.
This surge means that more and more children are being forced to rely on a system already struggling to meet their needs.
Families reliant on EHCPs
The reliance on EHCPs means that funding and resources are taken away from early intervention in mainstream schools, the report found, which in turn creates a self-perpetuating cycle of high costs, growing waiting lists and more children with unmet needs.
Figures suggest that almost one in five children now has special educational needs and more than 5% of all pupils now access the highest level of special educational needs support through EHCPs, almost double the 2017 figure.
More assessments and more plans also mean more complaints and court cases. In 2023-24 there were 21,000 registered appeals, up 55% on the previous year. Almost all found in favour of parents.
The authors of the report say poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic are possible drivers of increasing need, alongside cuts to support services.
Historic underfunding to blame for crisis
The report highlights a 46% fall on spending on early intervention between 2010-11 and 2021-22, the closure of 1,340 Sure Start centres over the same period, and a 26% real terms cut to public health services since 2015-16.
The taskforce’s recommendations include:
- Creating a new Additional Learning Support system, delivered in schools by schools to provide timely, high quality, evidence-based support to pupils with SEND needs and revamp EHCPs into LA coordinated plans for the most complex cases
- Retaining existing EHCPs, so no child with a current plan will lose one until the new system is working for families and children
- Investment in teacher training and SEND professionals by rebalancing funding towards early intervention so schools have the experts and resources they need to support children with additional learning needs
Improving the SEND system is going to require more focus on the provision in mainstream schools
Geoff Barton CBE, former headteacher and general secretary of the ASCL, and the taskforce chair, said: “Schools and trusts want to do more to support children with SEND, but the current system makes this challenging.
“Funding is locked behind thresholds, delays in getting necessary support can stretch on for years, and teacher training doesn’t cover the expertise our teachers need on behalf the young people they teach.
“We need to radically reform the system so that resources are readily available to provide children with effective and timely support, and so that parents feel genuine and active partners in their child’s educational journey.”
Reform urgently needed
Baroness Anne Longfield, former Children’s Commissioner and IPPR Inclusion Taskforce member, said: “The SEND system is broken, and this report demonstrates why reform is needed so urgently, and why inclusion must run right through our education system.
“All children should be part of a school community that is welcoming and inclusive, that is supported to meet their needs, and which is aspirational about the achieving the very best outcomes.”
Margaret Mulholland, SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Improving the SEND system is going to require more focus on the provision in mainstream schools, and we welcome the taskforce’s call for greater investment and the rebalancing of funding towards early intervention.
“At present, schools struggle with insufficient core funding to meet the range of additional needs in every classroom. They require more staff, more training support, and access to specialists such as speech and language therapists, and educational psychologists.
“Addressing these issues will be critical to the success of any new system.
“The question of what role education, health, and care plans play in this new landscape is fraught with jeopardy as families see these plans as a legal guarantee of support for their child. Any new approach will need to have their confidence.”
