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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How government changes to special needs education could affect children with EHCPs
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."


FF News
23-06-2025
- Business
- FF News
Project Nemo Demands Better Banking for Adults With a Learning Disability
Banking for learning disabilities remains a critical challenge in today's digital economy. Project Nemo, a grassroots initiative advocating for disability inclusion in fintech, has released a major new report revealing how the financial sector continues to exclude adults with learning disabilities from safe and independent money management. With transformational changes to the financial landscape over the last 18 years, in particular with the significant move away from cash (60% of all transactions by volume in 2008 to 12% in 2023, according to UK Finance ) the learning disability community have been forced into a digital payments system that has not been designed with their needs in mind. ' Safe Spending for Adults with a Learning Disability: A Call to Action for Financial Services ' launches this morning at a Project Nemo event bringing together fintechs, banks, trade bodies, disability charities and advocacy groups at Nationwide Building Society headquarters. Attendees include The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP, Minister of State for Social Security and Disability. It reveals the findings of the most comprehensive research to date into the barriers faced by adults with a learning disability and those who support them when managing money. Banking for learning disabilities requires tools that balance independence and oversight, something most banks overlook. The challenges of managing bank accounts for everyday spending have resulted in 87% of adults with a learning disability and their supporters turning to informal work arounds, often without disclosed statutory authority such as Lasting Power of Attorney or Deputyship. These workarounds, such as family members pretending to be the user while on the phone to the bank, or sharing bank card PIN numbers, introduce unnecessary risks. Whilst there are some dedicated fintech supported payments solutions, these don't appear to be particularly well known. Helpfully, the new report also suggests banking features that this user group would find most beneficial. The research, sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, also found that 32% of people with a learning disability don't have a bank account in their own name; and 61% say banks don't always do enough to meet their needs. The report shines a light on the fact that many of the recent advances in payments have actually made it significantly more difficult to make, receive, and manage payments for the 1.5 million people in the UK living with a learning disability and their supporters. Digital payments are a particular concern, as cash offers a physical sense of value and control that digital methods struggle to replicate. The increase in self-service terminals, decrease in physical bank branches and growth of shopping online have all reduced human interaction, which this community can be more reliant upon to help with understanding and completing purchases. Meanwhile increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics including exploiting identified vulnerabilities also make managing everyday money riskier for this underserved group. New fintech solutions could transform banking for learning disabilities, but awareness and adoption remain low. The research explored a range of potential money management features to aid safer spending for adults with a learning disability, and identified that: To aid independent user understanding, any features should use clear and simple language, supported by visual explanations where possible. The ability to customise to suit individual needs is critical to success of any products built for this community. Notifications or settings that give supporters oversight of spending and the opportunity to intercept risky purchases provide reassurance for both supporters and users and have potential to enable greater independence. Accessible and specialist customer support must be available to boost confidence and support longer term independence goals. Priority features for products built for this community include saving pots, the option to turn on a Calm Mode that reduces overwhelm, and wearable alternatives to payment cards. Kris Foster, Co-Founder of Project Nemo, who has a learning disability, comments: 'Too often, people speak for us, about us or in front of us and it's never our voice. This project, including this research report, for the first time, has centered adults with learning disabilities and seeks to understand what we want and need from financial services. Now, it's up to banks to take action. I want to see them break down the existing barriers and ensure that others don't have to fight the same battles for financial independence that I did.' Joanne Dewar, Co-Founder and Project Lead, Project Nemo, says: 'Safe Spending for Adults with a Learning Disability: A Call to Action for Financial Services shows how trends in payments, which many of us think of as improvements, are compounding challenges for an already vulnerable community. This comprehensive research gives voice to the learning disability community whose needs are often overlooked even within the context on disability inclusion or financial inclusion. This Learning Disability Week, I hope that UK banks use these new insights to re-evaluate the solutions that they offer to this vulnerable community, which would benefit many other consumers groups too. With the current focus on the National Payments Vision and Financial Inclusion Strategy, I hope this report ensures the needs of this community are better understood and prioritised.' Project Nemo has joined forces with Kathryn Townsend, Government Disability & Access Ambassador (banking sector) and Nationwide Head of Customer Vulnerability & Accessibility to launch four separate workstreams to improve financial inclusion of adults with a learning disability. The new report is a key deliverable of the Research & Insights workstream, delivered in partnership with organisations including Mencap, the learning disability charity and Dosh, the financial inclusion organisation. Members of this working group are primarily those working in the financial services industry who are parents of young adults with learning disabilities, so are highly attuned to their needs and the gaps in service provision. Inclusive design must be at the heart of banking for learning disabilities to avoid forcing risky workarounds. Kathryn Townsend, Government Disability & Access Ambassador (banking sector) and Nationwide Head of Customer Vulnerability & Accessibility, adds: 'Everyone deserves to manage their money with confidence, dignity and independence but for the 1.5 million people in the UK living with a learning disability that basic right is often denied. At Nationwide we are continuously looking at ways we can improve support for those with vulnerabilities. However there is so much more we can all do and I am calling on my peers in the banking industry to not just remove the potential pitfalls and potholes for those with a learning disability, but to consider the opportunity to build services with these users in mind.' Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of learning disability charity Mencap, comments: 'People with a learning disability tell us that they can struggle to make payments safely because of complex banking systems, inaccessible payment options and a lack of easy read information. Because of these barriers, many worry about being more vulnerable to financial abuse and not being able to spend their money in the way they want to. Project Nemo's work is a hugely important step towards ensuring the 1.5 million people with a learning disability across the UK can make their financial choices safely and independently.' Improving banking for learning disabilities is a win for both accessibility and innovation in financial services. This Project Nemo report is part of a wider project to help banks and fintechs improve solutions for adults with a learning disability.