Children with complex needs are facing an education crisis

There is a lot that is wrong in the system for how we provide education for children with special educational needs and it needs to be urgently fixed.

- CHRISTINE LENEHAN

Good teachers are doing their best for every child, but are being driven to breaking point by the hoops they have to jump through to prove the children they work with need extra support. Hundreds of millions of pounds in extra cash has flowed into the system under the last government, but outcomes for children are somehow getting ever worse.

Despite this increased funding, too many families still face long delays. Some councils are under such strain that only a tiny fraction of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) – which specify the help children need – are completed within the required 20 weeks.

In the 2021-22 academic year, fewer than 60 per cent of those with special educational needs at key stage 4 were in sustained education, an apprenticeship or employment after the age of 16, compared to 85 per cent for those without special needs.

But we also know that there are great things happening too. Thousands of parents and children are having positive experiences in schools, nurseries and colleges, thanks to the leadership and dedication of many great teachers and other staff.

For me, the most important reform that the government can get right is improving the way we provide education for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (Send).