The special educational needs (SEN) of “tens of thousands” more pupils could be met without an education, health and care plan and in mainstream schools if reforms succeed, a minister has said.
Catherine McKinnell, the schools minister, told MPs that research published today suggested reforms could “pave the way for a sustainable system in which schools cater for all children, and special schools cater only for those with the most complex needs”.
It comes after a devastating report by government spending watchdog the National Audit Office urged the new government to “explicitly” consider “whole-system” SEND reforms, warning the system is “financially unsustainable”.
The Department for Education today released the first insight summary report from its Delivering Better Value in SEND (DBV) programme, a financial intervention for councils with large high needs deficits. Fifty-four councils have a DBV programme in place.
For the report, 1,550 local practitioners and professionals analysed the stories of over 1,650 children and young people with SEND.
Most pupils’ needs not met effectively
They “highlighted that if the system worked in an improved way, 65 per cent of the children and young people reviewed could have had their needs met in a more effective way”.
“This evidence indicates that if the system was improved, it could lead to 30,000 more children having their needs met through SEN Support and 35,000 more children having their needs met in a mainstream setting rather than a specialist placement, including 15,000 more children supported through resourced provision (a 370 per cent increase).”
The number of EHCPs issued to pupils with SEND has been rising rapidly in recent years, with the plans seen by many parents of the only way of securing the support their children need.
As of January this year, 575,963 such plans for youngsters aged up to 25 years old with special educational needs and disabilities were in place. This is up 58,914, or 11.4 per cent, on the previous year.
‘A more sustainable system’
McKinnell said today the DBV research “suggests that if the system were extensively improved through early intervention and better resourcing in mainstream schools, the needs of tens of thousands more children and young people could be met without an education, health and care plan, and in a mainstream setting rather than a specialist placement”.
“That can pave the way for a sustainable system in which schools cater for all children, and special schools cater only for those with the most complex needs.”
She said Labour’s plans included “strengthening accountability for mainstream settings to be inclusive, for instance through Ofsted, and helping the mainstream workforce to have SEND expertise”.
Analysis of DBV data found the “primary driver of growth in expenditure is growth in EHCP caseload, accounting for 90.7 per cent of the overall growth in expenditure.
“£431m of the £475m growth in high needs block expenditure 2020-2022 can be attributed to growth in overall EHCP caseload in this period.”
‘Parental confidence’ in mainstream an issue
The report also looked at pupils with specific types of need. They found 63 per cent of children and young people with an autism spectrum disorder “could be supported by either mainstream settings or resourced provision/SEN units with the right support”.
This compares to 40 per cent at present. The report highlighted “parental confidence in mainstream as the primary blocker preventing children and young people with ASC from being in the ideal provision”.
“These would decrease the proportion of children and young people requiring support from specialist settings by 41 per cent.”
The report found almost 50 per cent of EHCPs issued to young people with social, emotional and mental health needs “would ideally be supported in a mainstream setting”.
Four in five of these young people in independent or non-maintained special schools “were highlighted as being in a provision that wasn’t the most effective support for the child or young person”.
