Parents will need to “think very differently” about government funding for children with special educational needs, the education secretary has said, as school leaders say the current system is on the brink of collapse.
Speaking to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference in Liverpool, Bridget Phillipson said the 2014 Children and Families Act needed to be changed to reform the current system in England that was driving local authorities towards insolvency.
“I think we need to take a step back from the system that we have right now, the system that came from the 2014 reforms, and start to think very differently about what that system will look like. And that’s a conversation that in the months to come we’ll be having with parents, Phillipson said.
“We all know the challenges. The hard bit is how we ensure we have a lasting system that really endures in a way that, frankly, the system 10 years ago hasn’t delivered.”
Since 2014, local authorities in England have funded special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision for children and young people through their high-needs budgets. But as statutory claims for additional support through education, health and care plans (EHCPs) have soared, councils have been forced to run budget deficits that are estimated to reach a collective £5bn.
This month the Guardian revealed that ministers are preparing a white paper to overhaul Send provision, with local authorities lobbying the government to give them more control over costs by limiting parental rights to appeals.
Asked if the plans included making it harder for children to qualify for extra support through an EHCP, Phillipson said: “I understand the anxiety that parents feel, not least because the system we’ve got at the moment is so adversarial, so pressured, where parents have to fight really hard.
“What I want to get to is a system where support is put in place far more quickly for children who need additional support; much earlier identification of need; much more timely intervention and support.
“That’s a world away from where we are at the moment, and the system that we’ve inherited from the Conservatives has lost the confidence of parents.”
Phillipson denied that the need to rein in spending was behind the changes. She said: “My first priority in reforming the system is better outcomes for children. Clearly, there are cost pressures alongside this, but that is not the driver of what we’re seeking to achieve. It is about better outcomes for children with Send.”
Manny Botwe, the ASCL’s president, earlier told the conference: “Schools are struggling to afford the costs of Send provision, and we are facing a shortage of places in special schools to meet growing demand. The whole system is on the brink of collapse, and we cannot allow this to continue.”
In her speech, Phillipson announced a new call for evidence on how to make mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with special needs, after last year announcing an extra £740m in capital funding to allow adaptions.
She said promoting greater inclusion would be more effective. Phillipson told the conference: “Children thinking differently in different ways is a gift, and it’s time to recognise that. I’ve been told [inclusion] is too hard, that it can’t be done. Of course it’s not easy, but it is possible. There are schools and trusts doing it already.”
The call for evidence will be led by Tom Rees, the chair of the government’s expert advisory group on inclusion, to improve inclusion within mainstream schools.
Rees said: “What’s clear is that there is consensus to move beyond just talking about the problems with the Send system and to push forward practical and evidence-led solutions which build on good work where it is happening in the system.”
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “We all want to build an inclusive education system and build parental confidence on Send but our question is simply, where is the funding?”
