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UK needs to solve the problem of SEND school reform
The Government has some holiday homework to do
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By Peter Clark (Senior Editor, Autism Info Center) Wednesday 10th December 2025 |
England's special educational needs (SEN) system is facing a financial crisis, with costs rising 60% since 2015.
The 2014 introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) created legally binding obligations that have overwhelmed local authorities.
With tribunal appeals quadrupling and diagnoses for conditions like Autism and ADHD trebling, councils are increasingly funding expensive private placements due to a lack of state capacity.
Crucially, this increased spending has not improved outcomes; fewer young people with EHCPs are achieving qualified status now than a decade ago.
To address the projected £6bn funding gap, the government must reform eligibility, likely limiting EHCPs to the most complex cases.
Proposed solutions include providing funds directly to mainstream schools for immediate support - bypassing bureaucratic delays - and establishing more specialist units within state schools.
However, this approach carries significant political risk.
Parents generally distrust the current system and may view the removal of legal protections as a betrayal.
Ministers must now convince families that a streamlined, school-based model can deliver better results than the current adversarial and expensive framework.
Source: The Observer (UK)
https://observer.co.uk/news/opinion-and-ideas/article/
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