Labour faces new fight over special needs education

Fed-up parents bombard Ofsted and brace for big shake-up in support

- By Jonathan Walker WHITEHALL EDITOR

PARENTS have submitted more than 10,000 formal complaints about special needs education to Ofsted over the past three years.

Latest figures showed they accounted for one in five received by the school inspectors.

The scale of the conflict between parents and schools was revealed as the Department for Education gears up to announce controversial reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the autumn.

Ministers are considering cutting the number of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued to children, which give youngsters a legal right to support.

The DfE insists no decision has been made but parents are up for a fight and Labour MPs are prepared for another battle after forcing the Government to carry out U-turns over cuts to winter fuel payments and disability benefits.

Ofsted received 10,260 complaints about state-funded schools that had an element of concern about SEND provision between 2022 and 2024.