Around 1.9m 0-to-25-year-olds in England were identified as having special educational needs (SEN) in January 2024, with 1.7m at school. Between 2015 and 2024 there was a 140% increase to 576,000 in people of this age group with education, health and care (EHC) plans laying out their legal entitlement to support. The Department for Education’s (DfE) 2024-25 budget for local authorities’, schools’ and colleges’ spending on educational support for children with higher needs is £10.7bn.
In 2020, the Committee found that many of the 1.3 million school-age children in England with SEN were not getting the support they needed, with their education, wellbeing and life chances damaged by failings in provision. The report warned that the DfE did not have a grip on mounting pressure in the system, with joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections finding that 47 of 94 local authority areas had significant weaknesses.
The National Audit Office (NAO) reported in 2024 that the SEN system is financially unsustainable without reform. The DfE’s 2024-25 budget has been increased to its current level of £10.7bn by 58% since 2014/15. With an increase in EHC plans, real-terms funding per plan fell by 35%. It also warned that when accounting arrangements stopping deficits impacting local authorities’ financial position end in March 2026, two-fifths of local authorities will be at risk of effectively declaring bankruptcy. The report highlighted a lack of confidence amongst families and children in an SEN system that often falls short of statutory and quality expectations, and is described by the DfE as increasingly adversarial.
Based on the NAO report, the Committee will hear from senior DfE officials on subjects including:
- Performance of the system;
- The overall picture on the support available and outcomes achieved for those with SEN; and
- Government action to create a sustainable SEN system and restore confidence.
If you have evidence on these issues, please submit it here by 23:59 on 11 November 2024.
Please note the Committee is unable to help with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to contact your constituency MP.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere.