How government changes to special needs education could affect children with EHCPs

Yahoo

a day ago

Campaigners have warned the government not to cut or scrap education plans for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Ministers have refused to rule out slashing the education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that ensures children with special educational needs receive the proper support from their local authority.
The government says it has inherited a system that has been "left on its knees", and plans to publish a white paper outlining its proposals in October.
But those representing special needs, disability, autism and Down's syndrome charities, as well as a number of high-profile broadcasters and academics, have said "every sign" from the government suggests it will remove the right to an EHCP from children attending mainstream schools.
Disability charity Sense told Yahoo News that 'snatching away" ECHP provision for vulnerable children "is not the answer".
Whatever the government proposals, it has been warned it could face a damaging battle with its own Labour MPs akin to its embarrassing climbdown in the House of Commons last week over planned cuts to disability benefits.
On Monday, Stephen Morgan, the minister for early education, insisted that parents should have "absolutely" no fear that support for children with special needs or disabilities will be scaled back.
He told LBC Radio: "What we want to do is make sure we've got a better system in place as a result of the reform that we're doing that improves outcomes for children with additional needs.'
But he would not guarantee that the system of EHCPs will remain in place, saying: "'We're looking at all things in the round.
'I'm not going to get into the mechanics today, but this is about strengthening support for system.'
He is the second minister in two days to refuse to rule out scrapping EHCPs, with education secretary Bridget Phillipson telling BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'What I can say very clearly is that we will strengthen and put in place better support for children."
In October, the government will outline its proposals in a white paper.
A Department for Education spokesperson: 'The evidence is clear that this government inherited a SEND system left on its knees – which is why we are looking at changes to improve support for children and stop parents having to fight for help. "
The Prime Minister's spokesperson also said on Monday: "It is totally inaccurate to suggest that children, families and schools might experience any loss of funding or support."
Introduced in 2014, an education, health and care plan (EHCP) is a legally binding document for children and young people up to the age of 25 who need more help than their school provides through special educational needs support.
An assessment is carried out by the person's local council to see if they need an EHCP, which identifies the person's educational, health and social needs and establishes the additional support required to meet those needs.
The government says that more 1.7 million pupils in England have special educational needs. About 5.3% of all pupils have an EHCP.
About 278,200 children and young people with an EHCP attend a mainstream school - that's 43.6% of all those with a plan, the Department of Education says.
The number of EHCPs has increased, with 638,745 in place in January 2025, according to the Department for Education, a rise of 10.8% from the same point the previous year.
The number of new plans that started in 2024 rose by 15.8% to 97,747, while the amount of requests for children to be assessed increased by 11.8% in 2023 to 154,489.
The cost of an EHCP can vary depending on the child's needs and what type of school they attend.
It can cost a few thousands pounds per year, with mainstream schools expected to spend up to £6,000 per pupil from their SEND budget before requesting additional funding from their council if required, although the government says most pupils' support will cost less than this threshold.
However, according to a National Audit Office report published in October 2024, it costs £19,100 per year to support a pupil with an EHCP in a mainstream secondary school. This rises to £23,900 per pupil per year at a state special school and £61,500 per year per pupil at an independent or private secondary school.
Last December, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that spending on SEND is "becoming unsustainable", with the 71% increase in the number of school pupils with EHCPs between 2018 and 2024 driven by three areas: autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and speech, language and communication needs.
It said the central government funding for "high needs" was almost £11bn a year. Because local authorities have a statutory obligation to deliver EHCPs, the IFS said high needs spending was consistently higher than funding by £200m to £800m per year between 2018 and 2022, with councils running up large deficits totalling £3.3bn a year.
The government is remaining tight-lipped about its plans to be published in October, but the current system of EHCPs has already come in for criticism.
Last month, it was revealed that fewer than half of the plans issued last year were done so within the 20-week legal time frame, the lowest level in the six years for which records are available.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said many families faced lengthy waits for plans and a "postcode lottery in support", with rising numbers of pupils with additional needs and shortages in staff and funding having an adverse affect.
He called on the government to invest in core school budgets, specialist staff and wider health and social care services.
Whiteman said: 'The broken special educational needs system isn't working for anyone – children, parents, schools or local authorities.
'Something needs to change, and while it is right that the government is looking at fundamental reform, it will be crucial that ministers are able to demonstrate that any proposals strengthen, not weaken, support for pupils with additional needs.
'Any reforms in this space will likely provoke strong reactions and it will be crucial that the government works closely with both parents and schools every step of the way.'
James Watson-O'Neill, chief executive of the national disability charity Sense, told Yahoo News: "Snatching away EHC plans from thousands of disabled children, and removing their legal rights to the education they need, is not the answer to the ongoing crisis in the specialist education system.
'The current system is undeniably broken. Disabled children face long waiting times and a woeful lack of services in many parts of the country. And these indefensible delays in support can have serious, lifelong consequences for disabled children.
'But EHC plans in themselves work well in principle - if they are properly funded. The government needs to urgently put a long-term funding plan in place. And any reforms must be developed alongside disabled children and their families, so disabled children's needs are put first.'
The government says it wants to provide better support for children "at the earliest stage possible" and reduce the bureaucracy surrounding EHCPs.
A new national campaign, Save Our Children's Rights (SOCR), has been set up to urge the government to preserve EHCPs.
Headed by parents groups such as Special Needs Jungle, SEND Rights Alliance and SEND National Crisis, and backed by dozens of charities like Mencap, Sense, Disability Rights UK and the Down's Syndrome Association, it also has the support of academics and SEND parents including actor Sally Phillips and broadcaster Christine McGuinness.
In a letter with more than 100 signatures, it said: 'Whatever the SEND system's problems, the answer is not to remove the rights of children and young people. Families cannot afford to lose these precious legal protections.
"Many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision, or losing access to education altogether."
Special Needs Jungle told Yahoo News: "All of us know about the current system's failures and shortcomings. Families are often faced with a huge gap between the provision their child is meant to receive and what they actually get.
"But the problem here isn't the law - it's that the law isn't being followed or adequately enforced.
"Particularly in mainstream schools, a reduction or complete snatching-away of EHCPs would threaten the basis of huge swathes of provision. It will likely lead to children either being forced into specialist schools - which is the opposite of what the government says it wants to achieve."