Written evidence submitted by Sense

(SFC0034)

About Sense

Sense is a national disability charity that supports people with complex disabilities to be understood, connected and valued. Sense supports children, young people and adults in their home and in the community. Sense campaigns passionately for the rights of the people it serves, and offers practical help and support to families and carers, including information and advice, short breaks and family events.

Sense is also a provider of education and social care services. We have centres, hubs and colleges across the UK, offering community support and training.

As a service provider and expert in SEND, we are happy to give further oral evidence to the Committee on this topic.

Who does Sense support?

We support people with complex disabilities. A person has complex disabilities if they have two or more of the following conditions and they report that these impact their life:

1. Sight loss
2. Hearing loss
3. Autism
4. Learning disability

These needs may be with a person from birth, as a result of illness or injury, or they may develop with age. People with complex disabilities may require high level support in their daily lives, often with significant or constant care from family members or social care.

Our research has found that 1 in 10 disabled people have complex disabilities. This means that there are 1.6 million people with complex disabilities in the UK, a number that is projected to increase to 2 million by 2029.[1] Including almost 318,339 children in the UK with complex disabilities, of which almost 4,000 are deafblind.

We work closely with children and families through our Sense Centres and specialist Sense Colleges. In 2023, we supported over 3,800 children and families through our specialist operational services. Our specialist college sites worked with 334 young people and adults. Our multi-sensory impaired (MSI) children’s team of teachers and practitioners provides tailored support for children and young people aged 0-25 nationally. In 2023, the team supported 3,276 children and families.

Summary of recommendations

• Children with complex disabilities are facing a SEND system in crisis. Thousands of families experience significant delays to the delivery of education, health and care (EHC) plans, and parents are often forced to go through a tribunal to secure the support their child desperately needs.
• Local Authorities are under-funded and ill-equipped to meet the needs of children with SEND. Numbers of students with SEND are projected to increase, yet the capacity of the sector has not increased with demand and is crumbling under current pressure.
• We are calling on the government to develop a long-term funding plan for SEND. The £1 billion announced in the Autumn Budget for SEND is welcome but must come alongside further funding to support the system for years to come.
• In particular, the government should invest £34.3 million to support the training of specialist MSI teachers, to ensure children with complex disabilities can access education.

Topics

Performance of the system

EHC Plan delays

Many children Sense supports are waiting far too long to get education, health and care (EHC) assessments and plans. Recent research has shown the total number of EHC plans requested is continuing to increase, and nearly half of families are still waiting longer than the statutory requirement of 20 weeks to receive their EHC plan[2]. Even when a plan is in place, families that Sense support say their children are not getting the support they need. There is a lack of regulatory processes and scrutiny in place of the plans that have been approved, and often parents themselves have to advocate for changes or reviews.

In our most recent survey with parents involved with Sense (130 parents), people said they were extremely worried and stressed - 9 in 10 parents we spoke to told us they found applying for an EHC plan to be a negative experience.

We regularly hear shocking stories from parents. One parent who uses Sense services told us in 2023 that their child’s EHC plan, which should be personalised, was word for word an exact copy of the plan for another child in the same local authority. This is not acceptable. Another parent told us (anonymously, in Sense’s Family Engagement Survey, 2021) that they were still fighting to get support for their child four years on from first diagnosis. They said: “It's exhausting, debilitating, depressing, time all consuming, life dominating and offensive to parents simply fighting for scraps for their disabled children. It's wrong, it's hell on earth and it's relentless.”

Increase in appeals

We also know that the number of parents who have to make appeals for SEND support has more than trebled (334% rise) between 2014/15 and 2022/23[3]. The rate of appeals is also rising – in 2014/15, there was approximately one tribunal appeal for every 76 children and young people with an EHC plan, yet by 2022/23 that had increased to approximately one tribunal appeal for every 38 children and young people with an EHC plan. Almost all tribunal cases are won by the families. Of the 8,000 cases decided by tribunal in 2022/23, 98% of them were decided in the family’s favour.

Lack of accountability and funding

Mainstream and early years schools are underfunded and ill-equipped to identify and meet the needs of children with SEND. There is a lack of clarity around who is responsible for SEND provision, and little accountability for schools and local authorities that are not meeting requirements.

In July 2024, a Local Government Association report found that high needs spending by LAs exceeded high needs block allocations by £890 million in 2023/24[4]. The cumulative high needs deficit has risen from £300 million in 2018/19 to £3.16 billion currently. Half of LAs (50%) responding to the survey stated if statutory override conditions were removed, they would be insolvent within 1-3 years. Despite increased expenditure, outcomes of children and young people with SEND have not improved.

The overall picture on the support available and outcomes achieved for those with SEN

Nearly two thirds (61%) of parents have told Sense they do not feel positive about the future for their disabled child, and fewer than 1 in 5 parents (19%) believe that the support their disabled child receives now will help them develop the skills they need in the future (Sense Family Engagement research, 2021). This is often due to inadequate support being available.

Numbers of students with SEN are increasing

Over 1.7 million pupils in England have SEN, and we know there were 434,354 pupils with EHC plans in England in January 2024.[5] The number of pupils with EHC plans has significantly increased in the last few years (from 4.3% in 2023, to 4.8% in 2024), with an increase particularly in speech and language and mental health needs listed as the primary concern.[6]

Lack of specialist teaching staff

Support looks different for every child, and often disabled students are not offered the support they need. However, students with certain special needs (such as complex disabilities) often need more specialised support than other disabled students. Students may need consistent 1-1 support and a tailored plan for learning and communication.

People with complex disabilities tend to have two or more conditions, including but not limited to hearing impairment, vision impairment, learning disability, and autism. They may well have other needs alongside this, and as a result experience unique barriers in daily life. They are likely to need a high level of support to communicate, develop new skills, and take part in education.

As of January 2024, there were 4,573 children with MSI in England.[7] The combination of hearing and sight loss means that they need specialist support to develop skills and achieve their potential. This may be through support from a specialist MSI teacher, who provides educational support by tailoring a child’s learning to ensure that their needs are met and that they can develop skills.

However, families tell Sense that their children are missing out on vital support and are unable able to access education because of the lack of MSI teachers. Sense research found that 52% of local authorities do not employ any MSI teachers[8], leaving thousands of deafblind children unable to access education.

Furthermore, the National SENCO Workforce Survey, published in 2021, found that there were huge gaps in resources of SENCOs to do their jobs, finding 55% of primary SENCOs and 70% of secondary SENCOs are not allocated enough time to complete their role effectively. This is driving many to leave the roles and is reducing the ability of professionals to do their jobs effectively[9].

Finding a suitable school place

Sometimes finding a school place that suits a pupil’s needs is difficult and can make the process take a long time. Many are having to travel long distances to access the schooling they deserve – figures in 2022 obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) showed at least 43,000 children with EHC plans are in schools or other education establishments outside their home council area[10]. According to Coram Family and Childcare’s annual Childcare Survey, only 6% of local authorities say they are able to provide sufficient childcare for all children in their area with SEND, from the early years until they turn 14, dropping from 12% in 2023[11].

Government action to create a sustainable SEN system and restore confidence

Long-term funding and improvement plan

Sense is calling on the government to develop a long-term funding plan for SEND as well as a plan for long-term improvement of the system, with annual targets and accountability mechanisms. We welcome the recent £1 billion announced in the Autumn Budget for SEND, but this is not enough to address systemic underlying issues in the SEND system. The National Audit Office’s recent report showed despite annual SEND budgets rising by 58% in a decade, outcomes for children with SEND have not improved[12]. Additionally, in July a Local Government Association report found high needs spending by local authorities had exceeded its 2023/24 allocated funding by £890 million[13].

In order to create a sustainable and effective SEND system that works for all disabled children, the government must ensure funding is equal across local authorities so that disabled children do not face a postcode lottery when accessing support. There should be a long-term funding plan which clearly outlines specific funding for each area of concern, including cost of transport to school and addressing EHC plan waiting lists.

Funding MSI teachers

Many children with complex disabilities need support from an MSI teacher, who can help deafblind children access communication and develop critical communication skills such as tactile sign language.

Evidence gathered by Sense has shown that over half of Local Authorities in England do not employ any MSI teachers, and there is huge variation in support available across England[14]. This risks leaving deafblind children across the country without this crucial support and reducing their future life chances.

Sense has calculated that a fund of £34.3 million is needed to meet the number of MSI teachers needed across England. This would include:

• £4.8 million to train and employ 21 MSI teachers in local authorities where there is an urgent need.
• £13.3 million to fill the remaining gaps in provision, by training and employing 58 MSI teachers in local authorities where there is no current provision, but a less urgent need.
• £16.2 million to keep 73 MSI teachers in post across England.

This fits with the government’s commitment to training 6,500 new specialist teachers, and, if implemented successfully, would restore confidence that children with MSI have the opportunity to learn and thrive.

November 2024