SEN0887
Written evidence submitted by Department for Education
Section 1: Support for children and young people with SEND
Training for teachers, teaching assistants and all those who work with children with SEND
SEN support in mainstream schools and early years settings
Outcomes for children and young people with SEND and how these can be improved
The role of and capacity of specialist schools, independent schools and Alternative Provision
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
Current and future SEND need: Changes in SEND need since 2014 and projections for future SEND need
Section 2: Current and future model of SEND provision
Variation in SEND provision between local authorities
Effective planning for and delivery of new specialist schools and places
Effectiveness of multi-agency and joined up working across education, health and social care
Provision and commissioning of specialist provision
Provision in the independent sector
Curriculum in mainstream schools
Reducing exclusion rates for students with SEND
Meeting health needs of children with SEND while they are at school or in early years
Improving the post-16 landscape for students with SEND
Meeting transport needs of post-16 students with SEND
Section 3: Finance, funding and capacity of SEND provision
Funding for early identification of SEND, including in Early Years settings
Achieving financial stability and sustainability across the SEND system
Effectiveness of interventions such as Safety Valve and Delivering Better Value
Capital investment in SEND capacity
Funding of SEN support provision in schools
Impact on SEND provision for local education authorities who have issued Section 114 notices
Section 4: Accountability and inspection of SEND provision
Holding all schools to account for their SEND provision
Ofsted’s new ‘inclusion’ criterion for the inspection of mainstream schools
5. Over 1.6m. children and young people in England have special educational needs. The number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has been rising rapidly, year on year, since their introduction. As of January 2024, 434,354 pupils have an EHCP. For the total number children and young people across the 0-25 age range, the figure is 576,000, up from 517,00 in 2023. There has been particular growth in Autism, Speech, Language and Communication needs (SLCN), and Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.
6. Most pupils with SEND are educated in mainstream settings, including around 50% of pupils with an EHCP. 87.2% of 16/17-year-olds with an EHCP and 85.9% with special educational needs (SEN) support were in education and training in March 2023. 35.8% of school pupils with an EHCP are educated in state-specialist provision, with 6.9% in independent or non-maintained special schools. A very small cohort attend residential special schools.
7. Most parents (67%) of children with SEN in state schools felt their child got the support they needed (86% of parents of children with SEN at state special schools, 71% at state primary schools, 56% at state secondary schools[1]). Only a minority of parents have their case being heard at a SEND Tribunal (2.5% of all appealable decisions in 2023 calendar year).
8. Within this overall picture, there is considerable variation between schools and within local authority areas. In 2021 the Education Policy Institute published a report[2] that analysed SEND identifications for a cohort of primary school aged children and found that the school a child attends is the biggest determinant of their likelihood of being identified with SEN. The 2023-24 SEN in England publication data shows that across LAs, the percentage of pupils in schools in England who have an EHCP varied from 2.1% -7.1%.
9. Since 2016, there has been an increasing trend in the number of pupils with SEN and those with an EHCP. This trend is resulting in a greater pressure on the high needs system.
10. To address this, the previous Government injected significant additional funding into the system – an over £4bn (60%) increase in the five years from 2019-20 and 2024-25 – but could not keep pace with rising numbers, or prevent many LAs falling into deficit. The Statutory Override was therefore introduced in 2020.
11. The government also provided capital funding to LAs, which is creating over 50,000 new and re-provided places in both special and mainstream settings with the most significant investment since 2022-23.
12. There are some positive signs that some previous interventions are bearing fruit. In combination, a number of focussed interventions such as Safety Valve, Delivering Better Value and the start of the SEND and AP Change Programme have shown that another way is possible, especially when we work in partnership – and that investing in inclusive mainstream can support children and young people better and earlier and rebalance the system. While we have encouraged LAs to prioritise investment in mainstream settings as part of the existing capital funding guidance and around half the places being created nationally are in mainstream settings, this hasn’t been done consistently and many LAs are still prioritising investment in specialist provision to manage pressures. We therefore need to scale this up across the country – including through more targeted investment in SEN units and resourced provision – so that an inclusive mainstream offer is available for all.
13. The specific, evidence-based programmes to support schools have started to deliver. The Early Language and Speech for Every Child (ELSEC) interim report is due to be published in February 2025, at which point we can explore insights into the effectiveness of ELSEC delivery at a local level. Highlight reporting data says that Therapy Support teams have supported around 13,000 children so far, and just over 1,000 setting staff have been upskilled in delivering interventions.
14. The Department funded training for up to 7,000 Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) as part of the Early Years Education Recovery programme between October 2022 and November 2024, which resulted in a level 3 early years SENCO qualification.
15. We are hearing that parents of children with SEND can face difficulties accessing childcare and early education. The provider pulse survey, published in April 2024, reported that 34% of group-based providers, 36% of school-based providers and 16% of childminders had at times been unable to offer a placement for children with SEND or had had to offer reduced hours. (To note: we do not have the comparative data showing what percentage of providers have not been able to offer a placement for children without SEND.) The most cited reasons by providers for not offering children with SEND childcare included insufficient funding rates and lack of staff.
16. The SEND and AP Improvement Plan was published in 2023, following the 2022 SEND and AP Green Paper and subsequent 16-week consultation. The Improvement Plan outlined the approach to building the capacity to achieve the behaviours and culture required for the successful implementation of SEND and AP reform.
17. The Improvement Plan began to start addressing some of the issues within the system and as set out above, there are some positive signs from previous interventions. However, we have also been listening and learning and there are clear areas where we now believe the Improvement Plan did not go far enough:
a) It did not commit clearly enough to an inclusive mainstream system, or look hard enough at wider barriers and levers, including incentives on schools; and there were mixed messages about the balance between driving truly inclusive mainstream practice and creating very large numbers of new special school places, including for needs that could reasonably be met in mainstream schools.
b) LAs told us it asked them to take responsibility for a much better and more consistent offer to those without EHCPs, and for better early identification and support, without the levers to deliver it.
c) Parents told us they worried that it implied a reduction in the guaranteed support offered by EHCPs without enough clarity on what would be offered instead.
d) Schools told us it continued to rely on a model that looked only at individual needs, and made it hard to provide support for cohorts or groups of children – which they believed could be done more efficiently and effectively; and that it did not address perverse incentives in things like the accountability framework that could discourage inclusion.
e) It did not fully consider how proposals would work within early years or post-16 settings, or how the problems early years or post-16 settings face in relation to SEND are different to those faced by schools.
f) Overall, it did not take a fundamental look at the underpinnings of the system that had caused the challenges in the first place, but sought to address the problems within that system.
18. This Government has made a clear commitment to addressing these challenges as part of supporting all children to achieve and thrive:
a) It has committed clearly to inclusive mainstream, bringing a new focus on improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings.
b) The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will include measures to give LAs more levers on admissions;
c) Ofsted have made it clear that as part of delivering an excellent education for all our children inclusion will be a key feature of inspection;
d) The Curriculum and Assessment Review is looking at how high standards and expectations of great progress are supported for all children;
e) Critically, there will be detailed and extensive work in deep partnership with LAs, health partners, schools and parents that will look at the fundamentals of the system. Dame Christine Lenehan, former Director of the Council for Disabled Children, has been appointed to offer strategic advice on SEND to Ministers. Tom Rees, Chief Executive Officer at Ormiston Academies Trust has been appointed to chair an Expert Advisory Group on Inclusion, and Professor Karen Guldberg has been appointed as Chair of a new Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group – experts who will work alongside the Department to drive inclusive education; and
f) The Secretary of State is committed to resetting the relationship with the sector and alongside unions and employer organisations is implementing a new way of working on priority areas for reform. This agreement will be called Improving Education Together (IET), and SEND will be one of three key workstrands.
19. None of this will be easy; and some of it will take time. Our commitment is that the fact that some of it will need longer term work, and more time, will not stop us taking action now, wherever we possibly can. We will bring together our learning from Safety Valve, Delivering Better Value and the Change Programme; and we will be working with LAs and schools now to ensure the £1bn for high needs announced at Autumn Budget and the £740m capital investment confirmed in December lays the foundation for systematic reform and change.
20. The people who work with and support children and young people with SEND are key to all children achieving and thriving. It takes a vast workforce, from teachers to teaching assistants (TAs), early years educators and allied health professionals (e.g. speech and language therapists). We are investing in each of these areas to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND.
Teachers
21. All teachers are teachers of SEND. High-quality teaching and learning experiences are central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education. We have been taking action in recent years to help this become a reality for teachers and pupils in every classroom.
22. To support all teachers, the Department designs and delivers high-quality professional development for teachers at all stages of their careers to ensure they receive appropriate support. This begins with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) through to the implementation of Early Career Framework (ECF) based induction for early career teachers (ECTs) and National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for more experienced education professionals. This support is designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
23. The mandatory ITT Core Content Framework (CCF) (2019) sets out the minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills, and experiences that all trainees need to enter the profession in the best position possible to teach and support their pupils. This core content must be covered in full for all ITT courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
24. Beyond the CCF, government does not prescribe the curriculum of ITT courses. It is for accredited ITT providers to incorporate the CCF into a curriculum appropriate to the needs of the trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching. Ofsted check compliance with the CCF for all providers of ITT leading to QTS.
25. High quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. This is why we will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers – we will get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges, and tackle retention issues.
26. In January 2024, the Department published the combined and updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). The ITTECF now contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, including content on learning how to make effective use of specialist technology to support pupils with SEND. The Department has already enhanced the requirements on providers of training for ECTs to ensure that from September 2025 they exemplify how their content applies to pupils with SEND. In addition, we have committed to partnering with expert organisations to provide targeted support and further resources for ECTs in special schools.
27. The suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) has been designed to support every school leader to ensure that their leadership enables all pupils to succeed. This includes those pupils identified within the four broad areas of need set out in the SEND Code of Practice, and children in need of help and protection as identified in the Children in Need Review. All leadership NPQs contain a section on 'Additional and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities', which includes supporting leaders to understand how adaptive teaching can increase pupil success and the importance of working with families and staff to ensure effective support for pupils with SEND is in place.
28. On 10 January 2025, we announced that we will review the NPQ courses to consider new evidence and best-practice, and address issues that have arisen through delivery. This will include specifically considering how we can update NPQs to reflect up to date evidence and best-practice in high-quality teaching of pupils with SEND.
29. The Department also runs a Universal SEND Services programme which provides continuing professional development to the school and FE workforce. Since launching Universal SEND Services, over 20,000 online training units have been completed on various topics (including on SLCN, supporting sensory differences). The contract also offers autism training, which has been undertaken by over 220,000 professionals.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) and School Support Staff
30. A Department for Education survey in 2023 (Use of teaching assistants in schools) found that TAs across all school settings most commonly support pupils with SEND, which includes those with EHCPs. The research also reported that 67% of TAs received training to deliver targeted interventions, but there is a clear distinction in the types of interventions TAs had received training in by phase. Primary TAs were more likely to receive training relating to literacy and numeracy (including phonics) whereas TAs working in secondary settings were more likely to train in social and emotional support and mental health. Training in behavioural management was more common for TAs working in special schools. 67% of TAs were interested in training on working with pupils with SEND and/or other learning needs.
31. In September 2024, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) approved a new Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant apprenticeship, allowing TAs to specialise in one of three areas – SEND, Social and Emotional Wellbeing or Curriculum provision. The apprenticeship will be available for candidates to undertake in 2025.
School Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs)
32. All mainstream schools (including academies and free schools) must have a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). The SENCO must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school and must complete a mandatory qualification within three years of taking the role. SENCOs play a vital role in setting the strategic development of SEND policy in their school and leading on the operation of day-to-day SEND provision.
33. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs as the mandatory SENCO qualification. The NPQ provides SENCOs with the knowledge and skills to work with other leaders to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome, safe and they belong. For example, the course teaches participants how to articulate, model and promote inclusive attitudes and practices across their school.
Early Years SENCOs
34. The SEND Code of Practice makes clear that early years providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND. There is an expectation on early years group-based settings to identify a person to act as SENCO and childminders are encouraged to identify a person to act as SENCO.
35. The Department funded training for up to 7,000 Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) between October 2022 and November 2024, which resulted in a level 3 early years SENCO qualification. As of June 2024, 7,064 SENCOs from 6,772 early years settings had registered for the programme and 4,015 early years educators from 3,937 settings had completed the training. The Department will publish final data following conclusion of the Early Years Education Recovery programme in Spring 2025.
Early Years Workforce
36. We know how important it is for the early years workforce to be qualified, trained and experienced to enable them to support children with SEND and developmental differences and delays.
37. There is SEND content in Early Years Initial Teacher Training, the early years practitioner (level 2) and early years educator (level 3) qualifications and in the National Professional Qualification in EY Leadership (NPQ EYL).
38. In September 2024 we published a free, online training module and SEND assessment guidance. The resources are aimed at helping early educators to identify, assess and support children with SEND and developmental differences and delays in their settings.
39. In addition, we are funding the EY SEND Partnership Consortium via a Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) grant to deliver training and support to early years educators and parents of children with SEND within Family Hubs areas.
Educational Psychologists
40. Educational Psychologists (EPs) provide statutory input into EHC assessments and advise the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND.
41. Our 2023 research reported a range of positive outcomes from EPs’ support for children, young people and families, school/education settings, and more widely at the system level.
42. We are investing over £21m to train 400 more EPs from 2024. This is in addition to the £10m invested in the training of over 200 EPs who began their training in September 2023.
43. Following graduation, DfE funded trainees are required to remain in LA employment for a minimum period - this has increased from two to three years for those who began their course in 2024.
44. A reported 2,546 EPs were directly employed by LAs and schools in 2023, based on the School Workforce Census. Due to limitations in the data collection, this figure should be taken as an estimate.
Post-16 Education
45. As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, colleges or post-16 training providers should ensure that all staff interact appropriately and inclusively with students who have SEND and should ensure that they have appropriate expertise within their workforce.
46. They should also ensure that curriculum staff are able to develop their skills, are aware of effective practice and keep their knowledge up to date.
47. Colleges should make sure they have access to specialist skills and expertise to support the learning of students with SEN. This can be through partnerships with other agencies such as adult social care or health services, or specialist organisations, and/or by employing practitioners directly.
48. They should ensure that there is a named person in the college with oversight of SEN provision to ensure co-ordination of support, similar to the role of the SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO) in schools. This person should contribute to the strategic and operational management of the college.
49. Curriculum and support staff in a college should know who to go to if they need help in identifying a student’s SEN, are concerned about their progress or need further advice.
Early intervention
50. The Department is working as quickly as possible to ensure every child has the best chance in life, by prioritising early intervention and inclusive provision in mainstream settings. We know that early intervention prevents unmet needs from escalating, and that it supports children and young people to achieve their goals alongside their peers. Getting it right in the early years is essential to supporting children’s development, health and life chances. We are currently funding three specific early intervention programmes: the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) pathfinders and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme.
51. The PINS programme is a cross-government programme between the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England. The programme brings together integrated care boards (ICBs), LAs and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children and their families. PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children in around 1,600 (10%) mainstream primary schools. Schools receive up to 5 days (or equivalent) of specialist support. Support is tailored to the school’s priorities based on their self-assessment, children’s voice and parent carer survey findings. Delivery is now underway, with interventions either completed or scheduled for the majority of systems. 40 out of 42 ICBs are currently taking part, and PINS is operating within 7 of the 9 Change Programme regions. The PINS programme is being evaluated, and the learning is informing policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
52. 11,100 schools are registered for the NELI programme. The NELI has improved the speech and language skills of an estimated 211,700 children aged 4-5 between September 2020 and July 2024. Over 640,000 primary school children have been screened to identify those with language development difficulties. Evaluation of NELI shows the programme improved the development of oral language skills by 4 months’ progress for pupils receiving the intervention. Children eligible for free school meals (FSM) made 7 months’ additional progress compared to children eligible for FSM that did not receive the intervention.
53. In partnership with NHS England, we are funding the ELSEC pathfinders within our SEND and AP Change Programme. This is funding nine joint ICBs and local area partnerships within each of our Change Programme Partnerships to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with SLCN in early years and primary schools, utilising pre-qualification Therapy Support Assistants.
54. We hear concerns in the early years sector that a lack of confidence, skills and capacity in the workforce, combined with inconsistent access to funding and lack of accountability, has resulted in some children with SEND being unable to access, or struggling to find, a suitable early years setting. Additionally, LAs are reporting challenges in providing sufficient places for children with SEND.
55. 2024 Education provision: children under 5 years of age reported that the percentage of children registered for the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements who have SEN has increased across all age groups, with the latest figures being the highest in each series. SEN was about twice as common amongst 3 and 4-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement than the 30-hour entitlement (8.9% compared with 4.5%).
56. We are working to maximise access to government-funded childcare and early education by children with SEND through reviewing funding and supporting the workforce.
57. LAs are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their areas. This includes children with SEND. The LA statutory guidance on Early Education and Childcare sets out a clear requirement that LAs must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare (including for children with SEND) and make this report available and accessible to parents.
58. All early years providers are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEND and to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care.
59. The Department has regular engagement with LAs to monitor sufficiency and understand barriers to delivering entitlements for disadvantaged children and children with SEND. Where appropriate, we are providing support to LAs through our childcare delivery support contract, Childcare Works.
Inclusivity in mainstream early years settings, schools and Post 16 education settings
60. Improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings is a key part of the government’s ambition to ensure that all children and young people receive the support they need to achieve and thrive, in the most appropriate setting.
61. We want to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. Our approach will support families, breaking down the barriers to opportunity for every child and young person.
62. There are a range of characteristics of inclusive mainstream in early years settings, schools or Post 16 education settings, including, but not limited to:
63. As set out earlier, the Government has made a clear commitment to supporting all children to achieve and thrive:
64. AP schools also contribute to a more inclusive whole-school system. The best AP schools provide quality education and support and promote mental health and well-being. They deploy their specialist skills in both mainstream and AP settings to help children with SEN, medical needs or behaviour that present barriers to learning develop the skills and confidence needed to achieve and thrive.
65. In support of the above, the AP Specialist Taskforces programme enables teams of specialists such as speech and language therapists, youth workers and family workers to provide joined up, child-centred support to improve outcomes for children in AP (or in mainstream school but on the cusp of requiring AP). The APST pilot, undergoing independent evaluation, has supported over 5,600 children since 2021, and through the SEND and AP Change Programme, more local areas are now drawing on the learning from APST to set up their own taskforces.
Wider support programmes
66. Alongside ambitions for wholescale system reform, the government is already delivering support programmes that are impacting their experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
67. The Internships Work Programme is aiming to double the number of supported internships to 4,500 by March 2025, to support more young people with EHCPs to gain the skills to transition into employment. Internal data suggests we are on track to meet this target and early findings from an interim evaluation report of this programme show signs of success: from a sample of interns surveyed, at the end of their internship, almost one third of interns had a job, and one third were waiting for a response about a potential job. 12 LAs are also piloting use of the supported internships model for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities but without EHCPs in 12 local authorities, to see if this provides an effective route into employment for this cohort. We are expecting to reach around 250 young people through the pilot. The full evaluation of these programmes is expected summer 2026 and early findings are informing future policy development.
68. Since March 2022, the £30m Short Breaks Innovation Fund has tested novel approaches to integrated delivery of short breaks and support services for disabled children and young people and their families. The programme is on track to deliver over the original estimate of 10,800 placements by March 2025.
69. We recognise that outcomes for children and young people with SEND are not where we would want them to be, and that there have been particular challenges in improving outcomes since 2019. There are multiple outcomes we consider within this system including: educational outcomes, parental and child and young person experience, and the financial health and efficiency of the system.
Educational Outcomes
70. Pupils with Special Educational Needs consistently achieve worse outcomes than their peers, with no identified Special Education Needs, throughout their school careers.
71. Pupils identified with SEN have higher absences rates than their peers with no identified SEN.[3] A higher proportion of pupils with EHC plans (6%) or pupils on SEN support (5%) received one or more suspension in 2020/21, compared to 2% of pupils with no SEN.[4]
72. The Early years foundation stage profile reported that there is a large attainment gap between children with SEN in EY and those who do not have SEN. In the 23/24 academic year, 24.9% of children with SEN support reached a good level of development (GLD), compared with 75.6% of children with no identified SEN. The percentage of children with SEN support with GLD was 21 percentage points higher than that of children with an EHCP (24.9% compared with 3.8%).
73. In 2021/22 at the end of Key Stage 2, 7% of pupils with EHCPs achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with 29% on SEN Support and 69% with no identified SEN.[5]In KS4 in 2023/24, 37.7% of those on SEN Support and 13.0% of those with an EHCP achieved grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs, compared to 72.1% of those with no identified SEN.
74. In KS5 of the 35,359 young people with SEN, 42.9% qualified to Level 2 (9-4 grade) in English and Maths GCSEs by age 19 in 2022/23, which is 41.2 percentage points lower than pupils without SEN (84.1).
75. Pupils identified with SEN are less likely to be in employment and far more likely to be claiming out of work benefits fifteen years after completing their Key Stage 4 studies than those with no identified SEN.[6] A range of analysis shows that employment rates are low for adults with learning disabilities and those previously identified with SEN. In the year ending June 2021, 54.0% of disabled adults aged 16-64 in England were employed, down from 54.7% a year earlier. In contrast, 80.2% of non-disabled adults were employed, down from 81.6% a year earlier[7].
Parental Experiences
76. Too many families go through a protracted process to access provision. The timeliness of EHCPs has declined from 60% issued within 20 weeks in 2019, to 50% in 2023. There is also a wide range of local variation within this.
77. 67% parents of children with SEN in state schools felt their child got the support they needed, with parental confidence in mainstream settings being lower than that for special schools (86% of parents of children with SEN at state special schools, 71% at state primary schools, 56% at state secondary schools[8]).
Financial health and efficiency of the system
78. We recognise the complex financial challenges facing the SEND system. The national deficit has increased from £670m (2019-20) to £2.2bn (2023-24). The government recognises the strain that the rising costs of SEND provision are putting on local government. In particular, the impact of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits on councils’ finances. We will work with the sector on a way forward. The government intends to set out plans for reforming the SEND system in further detail this year.
79. This will include details of how the government will support LAs to deal with their historic and accruing deficits and any transition period from the current SEND system to the reformed system. This will inform any decision to remove the statutory override. This will be underpinned by our objective to ensure LAs can deliver high quality services for children and young people with SEND in a financially sustainable way. We will continue to work with the sector on the detail of our approach.
Safety Valve
80. The Department introduced programmes like Safety Valve to support LAs to improve management of their high needs spend whilst improving outcomes for children. However, this has not been effective enough across the board given the scale of the challenge.
81. We will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements for councils in financial deficits, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control. Over time, over 30 LAs have been supported to manage their high needs budgets through the Safety Valve programme. We will continue to work with LAs with Safety Valve agreements to deliver their plans.
82. We recognise the importance of special schools in delivering for children with the most complex needs, as well as being committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools.
83. Around 63% of special schools are at or over capacity (52% are over), although it is worth noting that on average schools that are over capacity have around 12% more pupils than reported capacity[9].
84. There is some evidence that pupils in overcrowded settings (special or mainstream) typically have lower attainment, and we have estimated that this is the equivalent to a 2 percentage point reduction in pupils achieving good GCSEs although we have not tested this against current special school attainment and capacity data.
85. Increased attainment can result in greater independence, transition into employment or higher quality work. As well as attainment, the impact of schools that are operating over capacity can impact pupil safety and wellbeing, and although more difficult to quantify, it is an extremely important outcome.
86. That's why we've invested over £3bn in high needs capital since 2018-19. Of that funding, over £2.4bn has been spent through high needs provision capital allocations since 2022-23. The assurance data we collect suggests this is creating over 50,000 new and re-provided places in both special settings and mainstream schools where LAs have improved the suitability of buildings for pupils with SEND.
87. The Secretary of State has now announced £740m for high needs capital in 2025-26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require AP. This can be used to create SEN units and resourced provision attached to mainstream schools, delivering more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, and to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND (alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs).
88. In last year's allocation we improved the targeting of that funding by using the newly collected school capacity data to distribute funding based on the LA’s pupil to capacity ratio, as well as the LA size.
State Special Schools capacity
89. Local authorities reported that there were 148,000 special school places in 2022/23, alongside 9,000 places in SEN Units and 18,000 places in resourced provision in mainstream schools.
90. For the first time in the 2023 School Capacity Survey (SCAP), we asked LAs to provide data on the capacity of special schools and the capacity of SEN units and resourced provision in mainstream schools.
91. The capacity data tells us approximately how many places LAs believe were available on 1st May 2023[10]. This is only approximate at the moment as it is the first year of data collection and the data are still being developed. We expect data quality to improve over the coming years. We do not currently know how many of these places are unfilled.
Independent Special Schools
92. There are currently 728 independent special schools (ISS), compared to 658 in 2023 and 477 in 2018 (as of January each year, School Census).
93. The number of EHCP placements in ISS has increased from 7,347 in 2010 to 9,284 in 2015; 15,854 in 2020, and to 25,620 in 2024 (SEN2 2024).
94. Placements in ISS are overwhelmingly funded by the state, with the School Census showing that, for 80% of the sector, 90% or more pupils have EHCPs (93% on average).
95. In 2022-23, average unit costs in ISS and non-maintained special schools were c.£62,000 compared to c.£24,000 in maintained special schools (LA-maintained and Academies). In some cases, higher costs can be explained by the specialised provision they offer. ISS can play an important role in the SEND system, particularly where they offer provision for low-incidence needs which may not be available in local special schools. We recognise the expertise and value that many offer. However, ISS have higher costs than their maintained equivalent, and we need to ensure that placements are used appropriately.
Alternative Provision
96. There are 333 state funded AP schools, including 170 LA-maintained pupil referral units and 112 AP academies and 51 free schools.
97. There are around 26,900 pupils in state funded AP. This includes:
a) 15,870 pupils whose sole or dual main school registration is in state place-funded AP.
b) 11,070 pupils with dual subsidiary registration in state place-funded AP, whose main registration is in another school.
c) An additional 48,130 pupils are attending other types of AP arranged by LAs.`
98. There are now 27,060 children (0-19) in unregistered AP settings up from 20,390 in 2022/23, an increase of 32.8%.
99. The proportion of pupils in state place-funded AP identified with SEN has remained stable between 2021/22 and 2022/23 at around 82%. However, the proportion of pupils in state place-funded AP with an EHCP has more than doubled between 2015/16 and 2022/23, from 10% to 25.5%, respectively.
100. For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with SEND, with parents struggling to get their child the support they need and deserve. We know that a lack of capacity in the system to meet need has increased the demand on specialist support, meaning that children, young people and parents are faced with a long and difficult EHCP process. We will work with children, young people, parents, LAs, schools and colleges and their partners in delivering improvements so that children and young people can access the support they need.
EHCP timeliness
101. The number and percentage of pupils in England with SEN has continued to rise. As of January 2024, over 1.6m. pupils have SEN (4.8% have an EHC plan). Of the 0-25 population 576,000 have an EHCP.
102. There is a statutory requirement that the whole process of EHC needs assessment and EHCP development must take no more than 20 weeks. In 2023, 50.3% of new EHCPs (where none of the statutory exceptions applied) were issued within 20 weeks.
103. We know that LAs have been impacted by increased demand for EHCPs and workforce capacity, so more efficient and effective service delivery and communication with schools and families is central to the recovery. We will work as quickly as possible to ensure there is more effective early identification.
104. The Department continues to monitor and work closely with LAs that have issues with EHCP timeliness. Where there are concerns about a LA’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the LA to identify the barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan, for example through providing support from our specialist SEND advisers.
Supporting families and making the EHCP process non-adversarial
105. We understand the urgency and the need to drive improvements but also are mindful that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable system reform.
106. We are working closely with experts on SEND reform, including appointing a Strategic Advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children, and families, as we consider next steps.
107. We published independently commissioned insight[11] that suggests if the system is extensively improved through early intervention and better resourcing in mainstream schools, it could lead to many more needs being met without an EHCP in a mainstream setting. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity – starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life. The vision of an increased focus on the importance of inclusive practice in mainstream education, was set out by the Secretary of State for Education at the Confederation of School Trusts’ Annual Conference (7 November).
108. The Change Programme has been testing reforms focussed on improving the quality of EHCPs, making the EHCP process more consistent, reducing conflicts within the EHCP system through better co-production, and over time improving the outcomes of children and young people. This included Multi-Agency Panels which bring together partners (including parent carer voice) to consider a child’s needs holistically and advise the LAs on decisions within the EHCP process; a common EHCP template and supporting materials; advisory tailored lists; and strengthened mediation arrangements. EHCP reform, particularly templates and digitisation, should streamline the EHCP process and reduce the amount of time EPs spend on more bureaucratic work.
109. The Change Programme is building an evidence base which illustrates how the reforms work together, how difficult or resource-intensive the system is to implement and therefore identifying what support all local areas might need to implement the changes nationally. Collective testing is also helping us to spot and address unintended consequences created by how the reforms interact together. Evidence will inform any future decision to legislate to require the whole system to deliver these changes.
110. We will strengthen accountability in mainstream settings so that they are inclusive by working with Ofsted and supporting the mainstream workforce to increase their expertise.
111. Over the last ten years, there has been an international increase in children with a decision of special educational needs (SEN). Between 2016/17 and 2021/22, England saw a 40% increase in pupils with an official SEN designation.
| Percentage of pupils with an official decision of SEN (as defined by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education) Source - Cross-country reports | European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education | ||
Country | 2016/17 | 2021/22 | % change |
France | 2.8% | 4.2% | 48.80% |
Germany | 4.1% | 4.9% | 18.78% |
England | 3.0% | 4.2% | 39.61% |
112. Definitions and systems vary considerably between countries, but overall, international studies suggest this increase is driven by a combination of better understanding and diagnosis of need, as well as social and medical factors.
113. There was a much steeper rise in England of SEN need that attracts a statutory plan compared to other similar countries, which started after the 2014 reforms.
114. There has been more use of statutory plans for certain types of need. Social, emotional and mental health needs, SLCN and autism make up 88% of the total increase seen in EHCPs since 2014.
Types of provision to meet need
115. Where we differ from some of our international comparators is in how need is being met in our system. Rather than a large change in overall need being identified, we have seen a shift in how that need is being met.
116. This is reflected in a rise from 2.8% to 4.8% of all pupils having an EHCP/ Statement since 2010, and an increase from 4.1% of pupils with an EHCP being placed in independent schools in 2010 to 7.7% today.
117. This may be indicative of a mainstream system that is decreasingly able to meet the needs of pupils with SEN. This leads both to the statutory EHCP system increasingly being used to secure resources to meet need and to needs escalating as a result of delays to support being put in place.
What we are doing
118. As above, the increase in identification and diagnosis of neurodivergent children is a big driver of need. To drive improvements in support for neurodivergent children and young people we currently have underway:
a) New Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group
b) Partnerships for the Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)
c) Autism Education Trust (AET) workforce training
d) Evidence reviews from Newcastle University and University College London (UCL)
119. We are carrying out a programme of work as part of a SEND and AP data strategy to ensure we take stock of our system health indicators, data flows as well as the regular data and insights needed as we embark on a programme of reform. We will make this an integral part of programme governance going forward.
120. We have also published findings from our SEND Futures Longitudinal Study discovery phase, which is testing new ways to improve our data on the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND.
121. We know that much variation exists in the SEND system at present, both in terms of rates of identification; whether an EHC needs assessment is sought; and how long that assessment takes. We also see variation in where children are educated, with some areas being more likely to place children and young people with an EHCP in mainstream settings, compared to other areas.
122. Our SEND Improvement and Intervention programmes target local areas that are showing signs of decline in service. This approach supports LAs facing difficult challenges, with a focus on sustainable and cost-effective improvement. Every LA has different needs. We provide support and challenge, for example, from expert improvement advisors and commissioners, who work with LAs to address the challenges they face and improve services for children.
123. The current Ofsted/CQC area SEND inspection framework was launched in January 2023. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection within 5 years. Where a council does not meet its duties, we can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. We offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through DfE managed programmes, such as our Sector Led Improvement Partners which provides peer-to-peer tailored support.
Variation – deprivation
124. We know that between and within local areas there is significant variation in the identification of SEN, including between families who are more or less deprived.
125. In 2021, the Education Policy Institute published a paper examining the factors that predicted the probability of a child being identified for SEND Support or an EHCP. As previously mentioned, research found that which school a child attends makes more difference to their chances of being identified with SEND than anything about them as an individual, their experiences or which local authority they live in.
126. The analysis showed that children living in deprived neighbourhoods were substantially more likely to be identified with SEND. However, the least disadvantaged children within those neighbourhoods were more likely to be identified with SEND. Children attending a school in a LA with high levels of deprivation were less likely to be identified with SEND compared to children with similar backgrounds in more affluent areas.
127. There are differences in rates of identification with SEN for children and young people of different socio-economic backgrounds. For example, in the year 2022/23, 27.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals are recorded as having either an EHCP or SEN support, whereas the national proportion of school pupils with EHCP/ SEN support is 17%.
Variation between local areas – EHC assessments
128. There is significant underlying variation in LAs, reflecting the duty in the Children and Families Act 2014 for each local LA to work with a wide range of partners (including parents and young people, education providers and health partners and social care) to co-produce a Local Offer of services and provision to support children and young people with SEND in their local area. This combined with 'SEND' being a very broad term can create variations in how LAs manage and respond to these challenges.
129. Data set out in the previous section shows that the timeliness of LAs issuing plans within the statutory 20 weeks ranges all the way from 1% for Essex to 100% for Wandsworth.
130. Data also shows that rates of EHCPs varies across local LAs. The 2023-24 SEN in England publication data shows that across LAs, the percentage of pupils in schools in England who have an EHCP varied from 2.1% -7.1%.
131. It is important that LAs are able to respond to the needs of their cohort. The Change Programme, in its first phase for example, addressed standardised EHCP templates, strengthened mediation, and multi-agency panels as part of improving EHCP panels more generally. We are considering how we can build on this going forwards.
132. SEND Advisors provide expert support across all areas of SEND services, helping LAs enhance the systems and processes needed to deliver tailored support for children and young people with SEND. These advisors, procured through a competitive process and contracted by the Department, offer targeted recommendations based on thorough assessments. Their expertise helps ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the necessary support to transition successfully through education, employment, and adulthood.
133. We also fund a targeted performance improvement contract (led by a consortium made up of Council for Disabled Children and National Development Team for Inclusion). This consortium delivers 325 days of support annually, allocated regionally to LAs that require tailored guidance. These support days are customised in partnership with local leaders to reflect the unique circumstances of each area.
Variation – use of SEN Units & resourced provision
134. 1 in 14 schools have a SEN Unit or resourced provision nationally (1 in 17 primary schools and 1 in 7 secondary schools), but the proportion of schools with a SEN Unit or resourced provision varies significantly by LA. Some LAs record zero or very few, whilst in other areas more than 1 in 4 schools have a SEN Unit or resourced provision (GIAS, SCAP, School census). (22 LAs recorded as less than 5% of schools having a SEN Unit or resourced provision, 18 LAs recorded as 20% or more of schools having a SEN Unit or resourced provision (GIAS 2024)).
135. We know that schools and LAs are interested in setting up more SEN Units and resourced provisions, and we will work with the sector to increase capacity and extend best practice across the system on a national scale, creating local pathways of SEN Units/resourced provision to enable continued access to a broad curriculum and improved experiences and outcomes.
136. LAs must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires LAs to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review (including its sufficiency), working with parents, young people, and providers.
137. If the LA identifies a shortage of special school places for children and young people in its area, resulting in a significant number having to travel a long way to access an appropriate placement, the LA will need to consider creating or expanding specialist provision, either attached to mainstream schools or in special schools.
138. In 2023, for the first time in the school capacity (SCAP) collection, we started collecting forecasts from LAs on the number of pupils resident in the LA who are expected to have an EHCP and who require a place in specialist provision.
139. This first collection of data has not been published as the Department plans to work further with LAs to understand their forecasts, with the aim of improving quality and accuracy over time.
140. We know how important multi-agency working is to the effective delivery of support for children and young people with SEND. That is why Government is working across departments to plan and deliver SEND reform, including to ensure collaboration is at the heart of the future SEND system.
141. We also recognise the importance of working together across education, health and social care to ensure we create a health and education system that can work together to identify and support needs as early as possible, and ensure that there is effective information sharing between educators and health care professionals. We recognise the need to work hand in hand with DHSC and NHSE to deliver better outcomes for children and young people with SEND – for instance, to improve access to allied health professionals.
142. Indeed, we are already delivering several cross-department programmes aimed at supporting children and young people with SEND or who require AP. For example:
143. The PINS programme deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to strengthen training and resources for school staff to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children. It will upskill around 1,600 (10%) mainstream primary schools by March 2025.
144. In partnership with NHS England, we are funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) pathfinders within our SEND and AP Change Programme. This is funding 9 joint ICBs and local area partnerships within each of our Change Programme Partnerships to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with SLCN in early years and primary schools, utilising pre-qualification Therapy Support Assistants. A national evaluation is underway, led by ICF.
145. The AP Specialist Taskforces programme enables teams of specialists such as speech and language therapists, youth justice workers and family workers to provide integrated, child-centred support in the largest APs in 22 hotspot areas. APSTs have supported over 5,000 children since 2021. Through the SEND and AP Change Programme, more local areas have drawn on the learning from APST to set up their own taskforces.
146. Family Hubs provide services for children of all ages (0-19 or 0-25 for families with children who have SEND) with a focus on 0-2s. The Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme is delivered jointly by DfE and DHSC and is based on multi-agency working as a way of joining up locally to improve parents’ access to services, improve the connections between families, professionals, services and providers, and prioritise whole-family working – we’ve seen encouraging early signs of improved services for children with additional needs.
Variations in health provision
147. The joint Ofsted and CQC Area SEND inspection framework is an important means by which local area partnerships, across both education and health, are held to account in relation to meeting the need of children and young people with SEND and in AP in their area. It serves as a primary tool for maintaining a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners, including actions for health partners to carry out. The vast majority of Areas for Priority Action (APAs) that are identified by Area SEND inspections name the Local Area Partnership as a whole, placing responsibility on both the LA and the ICB for taking forward improvement work showing that there is clear variation in the provision of effective health services as there are with other local partners’ services.
148. Our SEND improvement and intervention approach, working with Local Area Partnerships following inspections, is jointly led by DfE and NHSE regional teams. All local areas are expected to update and publish their SEND Strategic Plan after inspection, which sets out the actions they will take across all partners to respond to the inspection findings. We also provide coordinated support and challenge, for example from SEND Improvement Advisors and NHSE Regional Advisors, to address the challenges Local Area Partnerships as a whole face and improve services for children.
149. Every ICB now has an Executive Board Lead for children and young people with SEND, responsible for supporting the ICB chief executive to meet legal requirements. Annex A of the statutory Guidance on integrated care board constitutions and governance, published in May 2023, sets out requirements for executive lead roles in ICBs including the role of the executive lead for SEND.
150. We will continue to work with NHSE, Ofsted, CQC and other key stakeholders to consider findings from the review of local area inspections being undertaken by Ofsted and CQC to consider how outcomes for children with SEND or in AP are better reflected in the Area SEND inspection frameworks.
151. We are also facilitating a more joined up response between the Department for Education and NHS regional and national teams to improve outcomes and experiences and tackle systemic failings.
152. We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and SEN Units.
153. We are also committed to ensuring special schools play a vital role in supporting those pupils with the most complex needs. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires LAs to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with SEN and disabilities. As set out above, if a local authority identifies a shortage of special school places, they could consider creating or expanding provision.
154. The Department supports LAs to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.
155. To support this vision, in December the Secretary of State for Education announced £740m for high needs capital in 2025-26. This investment is part of the £6.7bn capital settlement for the next financial year, so we can deliver this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
156. We will work with the sector as valued partners to ensure that every child or young person with SEND can access a school placement that is suitable to meet their needs, including in mainstream where appropriate. In doing so, we want to improve pupil outcomes and experiences, restoring parents’ trust.
157. The number of EHC placements in independent special schools has increased from 7,347 in 2010 to 9,284 in 2015; 15,854 in 2020; and to 25,620 in 2024 (SEN2).
158. We recognise the expertise and value that many independent schools offer particularly in meeting low-incidence needs. However, independent special schools have higher costs than their state-maintained equivalent, and we need to ensure that placements are used appropriately. Independent special schools should therefore be part of the strategic planning of SEND provision.
159. We want all children, including those with SEND, to achieve and thrive. Now is the time for bold reform, and the direction of that reform is inclusive mainstream. This government is bringing a new focus on improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream education settings.
160. As set out earlier, the Department is working closely with experts on reforms and has appointed Dame Christine Lenehan as Strategic Advisor on SEND. Dame Christine will engage with sector leaders, practitioners, children and families.
161. As well as working with Dame Christine, we have created an expert advisory group for Inclusion, led by Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust. This group will advise government on how to improve the mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND.
162. We have also set up a Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg and including a range of experts from clinicians, scientists and academics, as well as education experts, third sector organisations and those with lived experiences of neurodivergence. The group will provide a shared understanding of what provision and support in mainstream educational settings should look like for neurodivergent children and young people within an inclusive system. The group will work closely with the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, and Dame Christine Lenehan as the government’s strategic adviser on SEND. The group will also work closely with the independent ADHD Taskforce (convened by NHSE) and interact with and consider other government department initiatives on neurodivergence.
163. To provide more detailed insight, we have also commissioned evidence reviews from the Newcastle University and University College London. These will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different needs. The evidence reviews will cover the different areas of need in the SEND Code of Practice.
164. We know there is much good practice in the system, and are keen to scale up that best practice where possible. For example, we know there are many excellent examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through SEN Units and resourced provision. They have an important role to play in a more inclusive mainstream system, enabling children to achieve and thrive in a mainstream school. We will encourage schools (and LAs) to set up resourced provisions and SEN Units to increase capacity in mainstream schools. We will work with the sector to extend best practice across the system, including how SEN Units and resourced provision can promote greater inclusion.
165. Alongside the ELSEC, PINS and APST programmes mentioned above, we also fund a What Works in SEND programme, which is delivered by a partnership including the Council for Disabled Children, the University of Warwick and Isos Partnership. This programme produces both academic primary research and local area case studies that harness best practice from practitioners and partner organisations on local area SEND service delivery. The research and digestible resources and effective practice models are included on the What Works in SEND website and disseminated through newsletters and free learning seminars, to build an evidence base for exemplary practice.
166. Since March 2022, the £30m Short Breaks Innovation Fund has tested novel approaches to integrated delivery of short breaks and support services for disabled children and young people and their families. The programme is on track to deliver over the original estimate of 10,800 placements by March 2025.
167. Polly Harrow was appointed in December 2023 (a direct ministerial appointment) as the first ever FE Student Support Champion. This builds on the success of Edward Peck in HE, acting as a channel between the sector and government, driving a strategic approach to improving the experience of students at colleges, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities.
169. That is why government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.
170. The review will build on the hard work of teachers who have brought their subjects alive with knowledge-rich teaching as it seeks to deliver an excellent foundation in the core subjects of reading, writing and maths, and a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work, and reflects the diversities of our society.
171. The review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve – in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with SEND.
172. An interim report will be published in early spring. The final review with recommendations will be published this autumn.
173. We will take decisions on what changes to make to curriculum, assessment and qualifications, and the practicalities and timing of the reforms, in light of the final recommendations from the panel in the autumn.
174. Tackling absence is at the heart of our mission is to break down the barriers to opportunity. Parents have a responsibility to send their children to school. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well-supported teaching and learning is, they will not benefit. We are committed to supporting the system to have a relentless focus on driving up attendance and getting children back into the classroom.
175. 20.7% of children remain persistently absent, missing 10% or more of lessons, and severe absence, missing more than 50% of lessons, continues to rise. In Autumn and Spring 2023/24, the persistent absence rate for all pupils was 19.2%. This increases to 28.9% if a pupil has SEN support and further to 24.8% where a pupil has an EHCP. Pupils with no identified SEN have a persistent absence rate of 16.2%.
176. Pupils with additional needs, such as SEND, may face more complex barriers to school attendance. This is why our newly statutory guidance, Working Together to Support School Attendance, is clear that schools should take a support first approach to supporting their attendance. This sets an expectation that registers will close after 30 minutes to bring consistency and clarity. A pupil who is late 30 minutes every day misses the equivalent of almost half a day of school each week compared to their peers.
177. In addition to this, backed by £15m, the government is expanding attendance mentoring to reach 10,000 more children and cover an additional 10 areas, reaching 15 LAs in total with targeted one-to-one support for pupils who are persistently absent. This will support 12,465 pupils in total.
178. The newly released attendance toolkit and data tools provides school with the means to track attendance in a granular way, enabling them to quickly identify pupils in need of additional support to improve their school attendance.
179. Remote education is not an equal alternative to school attendance. We expect schools to consider it only as a last resort when the alternative would be no education – such as where a pupil is recovering from injury or operations (and attendance at school would inhibit recovery).
180. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains measures for statutory registers of children not in school, including those who are being electively home-educated. Parents and certain out-of-school settings will have a duty to provide information for those registers, helping LAs to ascertain where children are and whether they’re receiving a suitable education. Consent will be needed to home educate for some of the most vulnerable children, such as those subject to Child Protection Plans and enquiries, and children on roll at a special school under arrangement of the LA. LAs will have a duty to provide support to home-educators who request it by securing the provision of advice and information relating to the education of the child.
181. Rates of suspension and permanent exclusion tends to be higher amongst pupils with SEN. In the 2022/23 school year (latest full year available), there were 787,000 suspensions, an increase from 578,300 in 2021/22 and 9,400 permanent exclusions, an increase from 6,500 in 2021/22, which are the highest recorded number on record since the collection began in 2006/07.
182. Rates of suspensions per 100 pupils for those who have an EHCP is 21.60 which is lower than for those with SEN without an EHCP (SEN support) at 24.42 per every 100 pupils. This compares to 6.38 for pupils with no SEN. The rate of permanent exclusions among per 100 pupils for those pupils who have an EHCP is 0.20, which, like suspensions, is lower than for those with SEN without an EHCP (SEN support) at 0.37 per every 100 pupils. This compares to 0.07 for pupils with no SEN.
183. We firmly believe that every pupil deserves to learn in a safe, calm classroom, and the Department will always support our hardworking and dedicated teachers, school leaders and support staff to make this happen.
184. Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils from disruption and restore a safe environment. The statutory ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing an exclusion. This includes situations where a pupil has SEND.
185. Schools should also consider using a multi-agency assessment for pupils who display persistent disruptive behaviour, which could include those with unidentified SEND. Schools should arrange such assessments when concerns arise, rather than waiting for a specific trigger.
186. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in AP receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We want to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of AP schools.
187. AP schools can contribute to a more inclusive whole-school system by working with mainstream schools to identify children’s SEN at the earliest stage. AP schools can also help devise interventions and additional support, helping children remain and succeed in a mainstream classroom.
188. Those who are permanently excluded will remain safe and supported in high-quality education at AP schools, where they will be supported to overcome barriers to learning and helped to return to mainstream school when possible.
189. Instead of focusing exclusively on expensive long-term placements, we want to see AP schools offer interventions and education across a continuum of support, across three tiers:
191. All education providers owe a duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of the children and young people in their charge. Children and young people’s medical conditions will sometimes constitute a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 places duties on schools to make reasonable adjustments in order to avoid substantial disadvantage to a disabled pupil caused by a provision, criterion or practice applied by the institution or by the absence of an auxiliary aid or service.
192. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 ('the 2014 Act') places a duty on maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. In doing so, schools must have regard to the Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
193. Schools should ensure that pupils with medical conditions have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. The governing body should ensure that its arrangements give parents and pupils confidence in the school’s ability to provide effective support for medical conditions in school. The arrangements should show an understanding of how medical conditions impact on a child’s ability to learn, as well as increase confidence and promote self-care. They should ensure that staff are properly trained to provide the support that pupils need.
Allied health professionals
194. The key allied health professionals who work with children and young people with SEND include speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.
195. SLCN are consistently the most prevalent primary SEN in young children, with identification peaking in Year 1.
196. As mentioned earlier, in partnership with NHS England, we are funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) pathfinders within our SEND and AP Change Programme to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with SLCN in early years and primary schools, utilising pre-qualification Therapy Support Assistants.
197. We also know that continuing to build the pipeline of speech and language therapists is essential. That is why the speech and language degree apprenticeship has been introduced. The apprenticeship is now in its third year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
198. The Government is committed to providing all young people with learning difficulties and disabilities with the opportunities to fully access the courses and qualifications they require to develop relevant skills to thrive in education and in employment. Offering the support to succeed to all learners with learning difficulties and disabilities is at the heart of the Government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to boost economic growth.
199. Our targeted performance improvement contract has delivered support packages on Preparation for Adulthood (PfA), tailored to the needs of the LA. These packages include a workshop followed by three training sessions: Planning for PfA, PfA Outcomes, and Embedding Children and Young People’s Voice.
200. Further Education (FE) colleges are often more inclusive environments for learners with SEND when compared to pre-16 provision. They offer a variety of courses at different levels and are able to provide a flexible approach to delivery in order to meet learner needs.
201. Addressing the previously mentioned issues concerning SEND in early years and schools will help to ensure that young people’s needs are better identified and supported, but there remain various issues which are specific to SEND in post-16 education.
202. FE providers need to be prepared for the numbers of learners who will require SEND support. The total number of learners aged 16-25 with SEN support/EHCPs in mainstream FE is forecast to increase greatly in the coming years.
203. There is a ‘demographic bulge’ of learners with SEND which began to reach the 16-19 cohort in 2020, with overall numbers of learners with SEND expected to peak in 2028/29.
204. General awareness of the importance of individualised support needs has increased expectations in terms of provision. It is important that the quality of support for learners with SEND remains consistent across 0-25 provision. Understanding of learner needs must not be ‘lost’ during transitions between settings. Over recent years there has been a rise in the number of young people being identified with conditions at a later point (people with conditions such as autism for example may “mask” symptoms and so needs may not be identified until later in life). The rise in public awareness of learning difficulties[12] has resulted in long waiting lists [13]to get a formal diagnosis in some areas; this has led to an increase in people self-declaring a condition without a formal diagnosis. Training providers are conducting assessments to identify individual needs which can be resource and time consuming and delay the learner from getting the support they may require at the beginning of their course.
205. Through sector engagement we are aware of areas of concern which will need to be considered and addressed through the government’s new ambitions which Ministers have previously set out support both SEND and post-16 skills.
Workforce capacity and capabilities
206. The FE sector is already more demographically inclusive than schools, with a higher proportion of EHCP holders in mainstream settings. However, more needs to be done to improve the experience and journeys of learners with SEND, and to narrow the attainment gap that persists post-16. Ensuring the FE workforce have the right training and support to meet the needs of learners with SEND is critical to achieving this aim.
Achievement and outcomes gaps
207. The differences in outcomes and achievements for learners with SEND in FE has narrowed over recent years but a gap remains between them and for learners without SEND. Changes in SEND diversity and inclusion practices and planned curriculum and course structure reviews must consider how this group of learners will be better supported to produce more positive outcomes and achievements. Special post-16 institutions play an integral role in providing specialist FE provision for young people whose needs cannot be met in general further education (GFE) colleges. However, 23% of Independent Specialist Colleges were rated as requires improvement or inadequate at August 2023, compared to 7% of colleges and 2% of 16-19 academies. There are also concerns around LAs using their high needs budget to fund unregulated provision for 16–25-year-olds with SEND.
208. The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all, with access to qualifications and training that will provide the skills they need to ensure they are ready for the changing workplace. The CAR will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve – in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with SEND.
209. The Government announced the outcomes of the review of Qualifications Reform on 12 December. These outcomes offer a balanced approach that supports the Government’s missions of spreading opportunity and supporting economic growth. We undertook an equalities impact assessment as part of the review of post-16 qualifications reform to assess the equalities impact of the review’s outcomes and this was published on 12 December.
Poorly managed transitions and information sharing
210. As learners transition between education/training settings or from one course to another, it is important that all parties are informed of the learner’s needs and what support will be required and provided. This needs to happen at an early point so that preparations can be made and the learner is assured of what will be provided to avoid the learner facing serious issues and barriers in their learning.
a. Education providers, students, parents/carers must all be aware of the transition processes and procedures and sharing of information between education providers must be managed properly to ensure better transition into post-16 education.
b. The landscape and types of stakeholders who need to be involved in supporting SEND in post-16 will be varied and will require a joined-up approach to resolve current issues.
c. LAs have a duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training provision for all young people in their area who are over compulsory school age but under 19 or aged 19 to 25 and for whom an EHCP is maintained.
d. Importing providers do not receive sufficient information on incoming learners’ needs from previous settings to support transition planning and ensure the right support is in place for their arrival.
e. Needs are raised or identified too late, when issues have already escalated.
Careers information, advice and guidance
211. Students and parents/carers must all be provided with quality information which helps them to navigate the skills training which is available to them and to identify and obtain the support which they require. This information may need to be specific to their individual requirements which relate to the SEND needs.
212. We know that the cost and availability of public transport can be an issue for some 16- to 19-year-olds when travelling to their college or school. The level of support provided is for LAs to decide and the arrangements don’t necessarily have to include free or subsidised travel. Many LAs do offer some form of subsidised transport, and this combined with the 16-19 bursary is intended to at least provide the necessary financial support to those students from the lowest income households.
213. Across the ELSEC, NELI and PINS programmes, government is investing £42m in early identification of SEND.
214. All LAs are required to set aside funding for a SEN inclusion fund (SENIF) for all children eligible for the entitlements who have low and emerging SEN. In 2024-25, total planned spend on SENIF was £123 m.
215. The Department has been reviewing EY SEND funding arrangements; in 2024, we conducted deep dives with LAs and providers, focusing mainly on their distribution of SENIFs and Disability Access Funding (DAF). Our findings reflected some significant variations in how LAs manage EY SEND funding, particularly in application processes, accountability, and fund usage. We’re exploring ways of encouraging greater consistency across the system in the delivery of SENIFs, particularly in light of stakeholder feedback that inconsistencies can be difficult to manage.
Family Hubs
216. The budget confirmed £69m to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs in the next financial year. £57m has been announced (by DHSC) for delivery of the Start for Life services in family hubs – services for families from pregnancy to the age of 2.
217. Family hubs provide services for children of all ages (0-19 or 0-25 for families with children who have SEND). Family Hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, improve the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers and prioritise strengthening the relationships which carry us all through life.
218. The Department has invested £300m in 75 LAs and there are now 400 family hubs open across the 75 LAs – welcoming places where families can be connected to a wide range of services.
219. LAs have improved the support for families of children with SEND through Family Hubs. The programme sets an expectation that staff in Family Hubs are knowledgeable about SEND services and able to connect families to the appropriate support and services. Family Hubs staff can support parents by making referrals to appropriate services within the hub network and making families aware of EHCP request procedure.
220. Family hubs join up local services for babies and young children including Health visiting teams - who play an important role in giving babies the best start in life and are the universal early warning system for all babies and children in the first five years of life. They carry out preventative work and their contact with families, often in the home, provides vital advice and support that helps identify early health and development or safeguarding concerns.
221. We are seeing many great examples of evolving practice in family hubs, in places like Tower Hamlets, Cheshire East, Wolverhampton or in Gateshead, where hubs are providing functional and flexible spaces – children and young people with severe disabilities use facilities such as the sensory room, arts and crafts or outdoor play area. By linking SEND provision to hubs, families can access a more holistic offer. Strong relationships have been developed with the community nursing team, who have provided support and training for staff on the medical needs of children (for example, administering medication or using different types of feeding).
223. High needs funding will increase by £1bn in 2025-26, a 9% cash increase compared to 2024-25, which brings total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This is an important step in realising the Government’s vision to reform SEND provision, driving greater mainstream inclusion, improving outcomes and returning the system to financial sustainability. The Government will work with parents, teachers and LAs to take this work forward.
224. More money is not the always the answer (or an option), and the government’s current fiscal challenges have been set out at Budget.
225. What matters is how the money is spent, and what behaviours we are incentivising within the system from funding allocations. In a steady state system, we should focus much more on how money is better spent to support an inclusive mainstream educational system, which meets children’s needs and means that parents will no longer have to resort to highly individualised plans to support their children’s needs.
226. The Safety Valve programme works with LAs to agree a package of reform to their high needs systems. Reforms aim to improve the performance of the system and ensure it is delivered in a sustainable way, for the benefit of children and young people, whilst bringing the LA’s dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficit under control.
227. We will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, supporting councils to bring their finances under control.
228. We will continue to work with the 38 LAs with Safety Valve agreements to deliver their plans.
229. Currently 38 LAs have Safety Valve agreements These include: BANES, Barnsley, Bexley, Blackpool, Bolton, Bracknell Forest, Bristol, Bury, Cambridgeshire, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Dorset, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Kent. Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Medway, Merton, Norfolk, North Somerset, North Tyneside, Richmond upon Thames, Rotherham, Salford, Slough, South Gloucestershire, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Surrey, Torbay, Wiltshire, Wokingham, York.
230. 5 of these agreements are currently suspended (BANES, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hillingdon, Norfolk).
231. We have commissioned a report into Safety Valve to review the impacts of agreements locally and generate lessons learned on high needs sustainability and inclusive practice. The report should be published by May 2025.
Delivering Better Value programme
232. The Delivering Better Value in SEND programme worked with 51 LAs to review and improve the way their services are structured so they can support children and young people with SEND more effectively and sustainably. The programme required LAs to develop action plans that place greater emphasis on early intervention in order that children and young people’s needs are met early.
233. The programme is on track to conclude as planned by March 2025.
234. Whilst we have not put in place an independently commissioned evaluation of the programme, we are tracking benefits and have published an independently commissioned insight report.
235. This identifies 17 components of local systems considered most impactful in improving support:
236. It also contains interesting findings for the SEND sector as a whole:
238. The government recognises the strain that the rising costs of SEND provision are putting on local government. In particular, the impact of the DSG deficits on councils’ finances. We will work with the sector on a way forward. The government intends to set out plans for reforming the SEND system in further detail this year. This will include details of how the government will support LAs to deal with their historic and accruing deficits and any transition period from the current SEND system to the reformed system. This will inform any decision to remove the statutory override. This will be underpinned by our objective to ensure LAs can deliver high quality services for children and young people with SEND in a financially sustainable way. We will continue to work with the sector on the detail of our approach.
239. We have announced £740m for high needs capital in 2025-26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require AP.
240. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, including SEN Units and resourced provisions, and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs. This funding can also be used for early years, post-16 and AP.
241. It will start to pave the way for the government’s wide-ranging long-term plans for reform to help more pupils with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream schools.
242. In the 2024-25 allocation we improved the targeting of funding by using the newly collected school capacity data to distribute funding based on the LAs’ pupil to capacity ratio, as well as the LA size.
243. We expect to confirm plans to allocate funding for the financial year 2025-26 by the end of March 2025, and will work with the sector to ensure that children and young people with SEND or who require AP can access the placements they need and deserve, restoring parents’ trust.
244. This funding forms part of a broader £6.7bn capital settlement for education for the next financial year, announced at the Autumn Budget, which will be used to deliver this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.
245. Providing support children with special educational needs is part of the core business of mainstream and is factored into the funding they receive. The national funding formula directs additional funding to schools through “additional needs” factors which correlate with the incidence of SEND.
246. Mainstream schools are expected to meet the additional costs of supporting their pupils with SEND, up to £6,000 per pupil. This is the maximum amount that schools are expected to contribute from their core budget allocations; beyond this threshold, schools can access "top-up" funding from their LA. For most pupils with SEND, the per-pupil cost of additional support for SEND will be less than £6,000.
247. The £6,000 threshold – i.e. what schools are expected to spend from their core budgets – has remained cash flat since 2013-14, while mainstream schools’ and high needs funding has risen in cash terms per pupil. For example, mainstream schools have seen a funding increase of 13.9% per pupil by 2024-25 compared to 2021-22, with additional funding for teachers’ pay and pensions on top of this. This means that the contribution schools are expected to make to the support for children with SEND has fallen in real terms since 2013-14.
248. For 2025-26 the Government has recognised the unprecedented pressures that LAs find themselves under, with an increase of almost £1 bn (a 9% cash increase), compared to 2024-25, which will bring total high needs funding to £11.9 bn. This high needs funding increase will benefit mainstream schools as well as special schools, because LAs use this funding for the allocations of “top-up” and other high needs funding to help mainstream schools with the costs of supporting their pupils with SEND, particularly those with more complex needs.
249. The 2025-26 high needs allocations for local authorities are calculated through the high needs national funding formula (NFF). The provisional NFF allocations were published on 28 November 2024, and updated for the DSG allocations that were provided to authorities on 18 December 2024. Every LA will receive a minimum increase of 7% per head of their 2-18 population, through the high needs NFF, with most authorities seeing higher increases – up to 10% per head.
250. SEND provision in LAs is largely funded through the ring-fenced DSG, which would not be directly impacted by a LA issuing a Section 114 notice. However, a majority of LAs are now spending more on high needs than they get from the DSG, and the Section 114 notice means that they have to cut back on non-statutory spending from LAs’ general funds.
251. While much spend on high needs is required by statute, in the case of a Section 114 notice, an LA may have to reduce spend on any discretionary elements, like early intervention and preventative services. Required savings for a LA that has issued a Section 114 notice could also adversely affect wider support functions such as workforce and home-to-school transport, putting the quality and/or effectiveness of SEND provision at risk, as well as wider impacts beyond education and high needs.
252. We continue to work closely with MHCLG to ensure wider support functions for SEND provision are protected where possible when a Section 114 notice is issued, and provide support to LA officials to help them mitigate any impact on SEND provision.
253. Six top tier LAs have issued one or more Section 114 notices since 2020, with mixed outcomes. Three authorities had challenges mitigating the impact on their SEND provision, however, two authorities were successful in sustaining the quality of their SEND provision and limiting any adverse impact from the process.
254. The government continues to engage closely with Ofsted as it works to become the inspectorate needed for the future – an authority on standards, working for children, families, teachers and professionals.
255. We will strengthen accountability to ensure that mainstream schools are as inclusive as possible.
256. We know how important it is that Ofsted’s approach to inspection is more nuanced, and more effective. The Secretary of State has to put an end to the use of single headline grades, an oversimplistic approach that was benefiting neither parents nor professionals.
257. We are working closely with Ofsted to develop proposals for how inspections could operate in future and how outcomes could be reported within a new report card system. The new reporting approach will help us understand which schools need more support and which schools can support others.
258. Alongside this, Sir Martyn Oliver is working to introduce change at Ofsted, built around the lessons from the Big Listen. The government continues to engage closely with Ofsted as it works to become the inspectorate needed for the future – an authority on standards, working for children, families, teachers and professionals.
259. We want to ensure that all children and young people have access to excellent, inclusive schools, and support to achieve and thrive.
260. We welcome the outcome of Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation exercise – the largest engagement with parents, children and professionals in Ofsted’s history. Children, parents and professionals all agreed that they wanted to see more emphasis on SEND inclusion within school inspection.
261. We are working with Ofsted on replacing the ‘overall effectiveness’ grade with a set of assessment criteria for all education settings, including mainstream early years settings through report cards. Ofsted will shortly be consulting on proposals for a revised inspection framework, to be introduced alongside report cards.
262. The Department is also changing its response to inspection. New school report cards will provide a more complete picture of a school’s performance, helping schools and parents understand both their strengths and areas of weakness. Schools that need additional support will be identified by new school report cards, and inspection reports. Where the school report card shows a rapid decline, Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will engage early to help RISE schools move back on track, with additional support available for the hardest issues.
263. Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill the government is introducing measures to ensure that all schools in their area contribute to effective local SEND provision.
Co-operation on admissions and place planning
264. This includes a measure which places a new duty on mainstream state schools and LAs to co-operate regarding their respective school admissions functions, and for mainstream, special and AP state schools to co-operate with LAs regarding their place planning functions.
265. A lack of co-operation on admissions, particularly in-year admissions, can disproportionately impact children with SEND and other disadvantaged groups.
266. This measure will support SEND inclusion by fostering greater co-operation and ensuring that admissions decisions account for the local area’s needs.
LA direction powers
267. We are also extending LAs’ current powers to direct a maintained school to admit a child, to also enable LAs to direct academies in the same way.
268. This measure will provide a more robust safety net for all vulnerable children and young people, including those with SEND, by giving LAs the levers they need to secure school places for children more quickly and efficiently, when the usual admissions processes fall short.
How can Area SEND inspections of local authorities be made more effective?
Role of DfE and NHSE in response to poor Area SEND
274. In response to inspection, DfE has established an infrastructure to support local areas, including programmes of support, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners.
275. Our SEND programmes form part of our evolving ‘toolkit’ ranging from sector support, such as sharing best practice, to our intervention approach working closely with Local Authorities using Improvement Notices and Statutory Directions.
276. Where a council does not meet its duties, DfE can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. DfE offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through DfE managed programmes, such as our Sector Led Improvement Partners which provides peer-to-peer tailored support.
Parental redress and the role of the LGSCO
277. In the current system, the route of redress for parents, carers and young people depends on the individual circumstances of the case, and whether the child or young person has an EHCP or disability. Routes of redress include complaining directly to the local authority (LA) or school, requesting use of the LA’s Disagreement Resolution Service, making a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsmen (LGSCO), complaining to the Department, or appealing to the SEND Tribunal.
278. The LGSCO can investigate complaints against LAs about maladministration leading to injustice, including where there have been delays within the EHC assessment process or an LA has failed to ensure a child or young person receives provision set out in their EHCP.
279. LGSCO recently recommended the expansion of their jurisdiction to consider the actions of a school fulfilling an EHCP and complaints about SEND provision within a school for children and young people without an EHCP. We will consider this recommendation as the government seeks to reform the SEND system.
280. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and colleges, as well as ensuring special settings cater to those with the most complex needs. Our approach will be carefully planned and implemented in collaboration with parents, education providers, and other partners who work with children and young people. Restoring parents’ trust is central to our efforts, as we want them to feel confident that their child will receive the support necessary to achieve and thrive.
281. This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. This means ensuring all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education, and lead happy, healthy, and productive adult lives.
January 2025
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[1] Ofsted Parent Survey, April 2024
[2] SEND-Indentification_2021-EPI.pdf
[3] Pupil absence in schools in England, Autumn and spring term 2023/24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
[4] Permanent exclusions and suspensions in England: 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK
[5] Statistics: key stage 2 - GOV.UK
[6] Post-16 education and labour market activities, pathways and outcomes (LEO) - GOV.UK
[7] Disability and employment, ONS. Published: February 2022.
[8] Ofsted Parent Survey, April 2024
[9] Data from our published school level data on special school capacity and NOR from SCAP23
[10] School Capacity data 2023.
[11] https://www.dbvinsend.com/insights : published October 2024
[12] The national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026 - GOV.UK, The Buckland Review of Autism Employment: report and recommendations - GOV.UK