SEND Funding Crisis: Urgent Reforms Needed Across the UK?

The current state of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding in the UK is under intense scrutiny, with calls for urgent reform and increased financial support.

This episode delves into a recent parliamentary discussion highlighting the challenges faced by local authorities and the experiences of families and schools. The Labour government acknowledges inheriting a "lose, lose, lose" SEND situation and has invested £1 billion into services and £740 million to create additional specialist places. However, significant financial pressures persist, with London alone facing a potential deficit of £502 million next year.

Concerns are raised about the historical funding allocation policy, which disadvantages some boroughs. The government recognises the strain on local authorities and promises to set out plans for SEND system reform this year, including how to manage deficits. 

There's a focus on ensuring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are issued quickly and addressing the deep crisis in both funding and delivery that is letting down too many children. The need for full engagement with parents, professionals, and young people with SEND on any reform plans is emphasised . Issues surrounding the cost of private special schools and potential profiteering are also being considered. The ambition is for a more inclusive mainstream school system supported by specialists .

Key Takeaways:

• The UK's SEND system is facing a significant funding crisis, with rising deficits in areas like London
• The government acknowledges the need for urgent reform of the SEND system and plans to announce details this year
• Historical funding models are seen as unfair, disadvantaging certain local authorities
• There is a focus on improving the timeliness of issuing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
• The government aims for a more inclusive mainstream education system while also addressing the role and cost of special schools
• Engagement with parents, professionals, and young people with SEND will be crucial in shaping future reforms

Transcript

Welcome to the bench report where we talk about topics being debated in the UK parliament. Uh-huh. Our aim is to make politics more accountable and accessible for you. Yeah. We analyze things that may not make the big headlines, you know, but have a real impact on all of our lives personally or professionally.

Absolutely. And we really wanna emphasize that politics is everyone's business. It really is. So today, we are doing a deep dive into some recent discussions that have been happening in parliament all about SEND. SEND.

Special educational needs in schools. Yeah. You've sent us some fantastic excerpts from debates that took place in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons this past March. Uh-huh. And there's some really interesting common threads that came up around assessment, you know, how we assess SEND Right.

Funding, of course, a big one. Huge. And just the overall capacity of the education system to actually support children with all these diverse needs. It's a big topic. So our mission today is to really unpack these parliamentary exchanges and try to tease out the key insights.

Hopefully, help you understand what are the big concerns right now. Yeah. What actions are being proposed Mhmm. Regarding SEND in UK schools. I think it's gonna be really enlightening.

I think so too. Yeah. So we'll be looking at how those needs are identified Yeah. The support that's available for teachers who are obviously on the front lines of this Right. The funding pressures because that's a biggie.

Always is. And that overarching aim of making sure that no child is left behind. An important principle. Absolutely. Yeah.

So let's just jump straight in. Right in. It is fascinating to me how many different angles the parliamentarians are coming at this from. Yeah. It's interesting, isn't it?

It does really highlight how widespread this concern is and just how complex the challenges are that the SIN system is facing right now. It's a system under pressure. That's for sure. So we're gonna start off by looking at Lord Addington's contribution. Okay.

Now he kicked things off in the House of Lords by questioning something quite fundamental. The capacity of schools to actually assess commonly occurring special educational needs. Right at the beginning. And I thought that was such a good point to start with. Yeah.

Because it struck me that if you can't even identify those needs accurately Yeah. Then surely everything that follows is gonna be on very shaky ground. You're building on a foundation of sand, really. Yeah. Exactly.

You need to know what you're dealing with from the start. So in response, Baroness Smith of Malvern, who is the minister in the Lord's, you know, responsible for this area Yeah. She pointed to several government initiatives that are already in place Uh-huh. That are designed to bolster the capacity of schools to actually assess these needs. Okay.

What kind of things did she mention? So she started off by talking about this universal send services program. I see. And I think she said something like over 20,000 training modules have been accessed through this program. Okay.

So that sounds like quite a lot of activity. On paper. On paper. Yes. But it's very hard to kinda gauge what that actually translates to In practice.

In practice on the ground. Yeah. Then she moved on to talk about the PINS program The PINS program. Which is specifically focused on supporting primary schools with neurodiversity. Okay.

So what does PINS s stand for? Well, PIN s stands for the Primary Inclusion Network Support Program. Okay. And it helps schools develop these more inclusive practices for neurodivergent children. That sounds quite promising.

It does. And then finally, she mentioned the NALI program NALI. Which is all about screening young children for language development difficulties. Okay. So trying to catch these things early.

Intervention. Yeah. Yeah. So that was kind of her initial response was to point to these programs that are already in place to help schools assess children. Okay.

But I thought Lord Addington came back with a really, really incisive follow-up question. Oh, what was that? Because he basically said, how does that knowledge, you know, from the 20,000 training modules Yeah. Actually permeate through to the whole teaching staff? Because it's one thing to train a few specialists, but it's another thing to have that expertise embedded throughout the school.

Yeah. You need all the teachers to be on board, really. And his point about working smarter, not harder with mainstream support really resonated with me. I can see why that would. It's about giving the tools to all teachers.

Right. Not just relying on a few people. Yeah. Exactly. Empowering the whole workforce.

Exactly. And the minister's response to that was interesting. Okay. What did she say? She sort of doubled down on this principle that every teacher is a teacher of sin.

Oh, I see. Which sounds great in theory. Yeah. But I think the devil's in the detail of how that actually works in practice. Absolutely.

And she highlighted that from this coming September, they're gonna be including improved SEND measures in initial teacher training. Okay. So that's looking to the future. Yeah. Trying to embed that understanding right from the get go.

Makes sense. But I think the question is, what about the teachers who are already out there in the classroom? Yeah. The ones who are dealing with this day in, day out right now. And that brings us really nicely to Baroness Bull's contribution.

Okay. Because she chose to focus on a very specific learning difficulty. Mhmm. Dyscalculia. Dyscalculia.

Now remind me what that is exactly. It's basically a difficulty understanding and working with numbers. Okay. So, like, the math's equivalent of dyslexia. Exactly.

Got it. And she made a really striking point about the prevalence of it. Mhmm. She estimated that dyscalculia affects something like one child in every classroom. Wow.

So pretty common then. Very common. Yeah. Similar to dyslexia, in fact. Really?

And then she dropped this bombshell. Oh, what was that? There is no official definition Yeah. Or guidance on dyscalculia from the Department for Education. So how are schools supposed to support it if it's not even formally recognized?

It's a great point. It seems like a massive oversight. So quite logically, she called for dyscalculia to be included in initial teacher training. So that teachers are aware of it from the start. And they can, you know, start thinking about how to identify it early on.

And support those people And provide that support. Seems pretty straightforward. But the minister's response was a bit different. Oh, how so? She focused more on this idea that high quality teaching should enable mainstream teachers to spot all sorts of needs Uh-uh.

You know, across the board. So that's kind of putting the onus on the individual teacher's skills Yeah. Exactly. Rather than having specific guidance for each condition. And she said that SENCOs would then be responsible for commissioning specific support.

Right. So SENCOs are the special educational needs coordinators in each school. Exactly. They're the kind of experts within the school. And she expressed confidence that SENCOs do understand things like dyscalculia Okay.

And that they're responsible for disseminating best practice. But as you said earlier, it seems like a huge burden to place on them. I think so. If there's no sort of overarching framework from the DFE Yeah. It's like they're having to fill the gaps.

And how do you ensure consistency across different schools? Exactly. You know, some Senkos might be fantastic and really on top of things, but others might not. And this gap in mainstream support could actually be part of the reason why we're seeing this really worrying trend Which is that Baroness Birridge raised next Okay. Which is parents increasingly withdrawing their children from mainstream education Wow.

That's a big step. Because they don't feel that their SEN needs are being met. That's a huge indictment of the system. It is. If parents feel they have no other option.

And she actually calls for data on this Yeah. On these instances of what she called nonelective home education. So these are parents who are essentially being forced into homeschooling. Because they feel they have no other choice. Because the system isn't supporting your child.

And the minister, to her credit, acknowledged this as a failure of the system. Which is quite an admission. It is. Yeah. And she talked about how the government wants to develop a more inclusive and expert mainstream education system.

Okay. So better support within schools. Alongside specialist provisions. So a kind of two pronged approach Yes. So that there are more options available.

And she actually specifically mentioned the children's well-being in schools bill Oh, right. As something that will be addressing this issue. So legislation is in the works. Yeah. That's good to hear.

But Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall followed up on this. How so? And she really highlighted the need for support that works alongside mainstream schooling. Yeah. So not just either or.

Not just either or. And a combination of both. And I thought she made a really telling point. Okay. She said that a lot of parents end up seeking private support Oh, wow.

Because they feel like they can't access what they need through the state system. So they're having to pay out of their own pocket. And I think this really gets to the heart of how well the system integrates those different levels of support. It's a really important point. You know, it's not just about what happens in the classroom.

Right. It's about the wider services and the specialist expertise. Yeah. That whole ecosystem of support. And so she directly asked the minister whether she was confident that there were enough specialists out there to meet the needs that were being identified.

Outside of the classroom. Outside of the classroom. I'm intrigued to hear what the minister had to say to that. Well, the minister pointed to the fact that they are developing these in school resource centers Okay. With different specialisms.

I see. And she mentioned a substantial capital investment. How much are we talking? £740,000,000. Oh, wow.

That's a big chunk of change. To create these facilities. So they're putting their money where their mouth is in a way. Yeah. I mean, that's a positive sign.

It is. And she said that they had also recently launched a call for evidence on best practice. Okay. So gathering information from the ground up Exactly. About what actually works.

About how to have inclusive practices Yeah. While also making sure that specialist support is available. It's a balancing act, isn't it? It is. Trying to meet everyone's needs.

But, I mean, as Baroness McIntosh pointed out, you know, the fact that parents are going private Yeah. Suggests that there's a big gap in what the state is offering. Or at least in how accessible it is. And how accessible it is. Yeah.

And so it remains to be seen whether these new resource centers Right. Will be enough. And whether they'll be distributed fairly? Exactly. Because we know that there are big regional variations.

Of course. And now let's talk about money. The elephant in the room. Because this is a major area of concern in the House of Commons debates. Unsurprisingly.

And we had Bob Blackman and Margaret Mullain both really pressing the minister for some answers. Okay. So what were their main concerns? Bob Blackman wanted to know what concrete steps were being taken to increase SEND funding overall. Alright.

And Margaret Mullane was particularly focused on the high needs block funding. The high needs block. Now just to clarify for listeners who might not be familiar with this term, the high needs block is a specific pot of money that local authorities receive Yeah. To fund services for children and young people with SEND. So it's ring fenced in a way.

Exactly. It's specifically for SEND provision. And so Katherine McKinnell, who's the minister for school standards Okay. She gave quite a striking response. What did she say?

She described the SEND situation that they inherited as a lose lose lose scenario. Wow. That's pretty damning. It really underscores the depth of the challenge. That they feel they're facing.

Yeah. So what are they actually doing about it? Well, she highlighted that they've already invested a billion pounds into services. A billion. And the 740,000,000 that we've already discussed for those specialist places.

Right. So significant investment then. But, crucially, she also acknowledged that system reform is desperately needed. So it's not just about throwing money at the problem. Exactly.

They recognize that there are deeper structural issues. And Bob Blackman then brought this back down to a very local level. How so? He talked about the huge funding deficits that are plaguing London. Mhmm.

And he predicted that those deficits are just gonna keep growing. So not a sustainable situation. And he specifically asked about a new SEN school in Harrow and whether that was actually gonna Go ahead. But he's really focusing on those frontline impacts Yeah. Where the rubber hits the road.

And the minister's response really highlighted that strain that local governments are under Mhmm. Because rising SEND costs are putting enormous pressure on their budgets. It's a real squeeze, isn't it? And she said that they're planning to reform the SEND system. Okay.

And part of that will be helping local authorities manage those deficits. I see. But the details of that support are still to be worked out. So a bit vague at this stage. And Margaret Mullane then raised a really crucial point about fairness.

Oh, right. Because she argued that the current funding allocation policy is actually unfair. Why is that? Because it's based on historical funding levels. Okay.

Which means that boroughs like Barking and Dagenham, where she's an MP Mhmm. Might be disadvantaged. Because their needs might have changed significantly since that baseline was set. Exactly. So it's not reflecting the current reality.

And the minister confirmed that the high needs funding formula is gonna stay pretty much the same for the next academic year. Oh, so no immediate changes there. But she did say they're looking at how to make it fair. But that could take a while. Yeah.

Who knows how long that will take? And meanwhile, those boroughs are struggling. So going back to the House of Lords Baroness, Baron brought up the issue of EHCPs. The EHCPs? Education, health, and care plans.

Right. Now these are legal documents Uh-huh. That outline a child's special educational needs Okay. And the support they're supposed to receive. Sounds important.

And she expressed concern about the variable quality of these EHCPs and the fact that they sometimes recommend interventions that aren't actually effective. So not evidence based. Not evidence based. So resources could be being wasted. And she proposed something quite interesting.

What's that? The equivalent of NICE guidelines for SEND. So NICE is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Yes. And they basically produce guidelines on what treatments and interventions are effective.

Based on the evidence. Based on the evidence. And so she wants something similar for SEND. That makes a lot of sense to me. And the minister agreed that clarity on effective interventions was crucial.

Oh, okay. And she said that there's work going on to identify good EHCP practice. So trying to find examples of what works. And that Christine Linehan, who's the director of the Council for Disabled Children Okay. Is leading some work on overall system effectiveness.

So it sounds like there's movement in the right direction. But I thought it was interesting that Baroness Fox of Buckley offered a slightly different perspective. In what way? She raised this concern about overdiagnosis Oh, interesting. And the potential for labeling young people inappropriately.

Yeah. I can see that being a concern. You know, children go through all sorts of phases. They have good days, bad days. Art of growing up.

And so she's basically saying, are we pathologizing normal childhood behavior? Right. And the minister acknowledged that this is a crucial point. Uh-huh. And she talked about the importance of early years practitioner Yeah.

And making sure they have the right training and advice So that they can identify genuine needs. But also avoid unnecessary labels. It's a fine line, isn't it? It is. Yeah.

But it's an important one. And then the discussions kinda broadened out to look at some of those wider systemic issues. Okay. And Helen Hayes in the commons described a deep crisis in the SIN system. A deep crisis.

Saying that it's not just about funding Yeah. But also about the delivery of those services. So how they're actually implemented. And she called for urgent action. Right.

And she said it's vital that they engage with all stakeholders. So not just making top down decision. Yeah. They need to bring everyone to the table. Yeah.

And then George Freeman talked about his own constituency Mid Norfolk. And how send provision is the number one concern for parents and teachers there. So it's really at the forefront of people's minds. And he said that there's a real contrast between what ministers are saying Right. And what people people are experiencing on the ground.

So that disconnect between rhetoric and reality. And he advocated for this hub and spoke model of support. Oh, interesting. Tell me more about that. So the idea is that you have these specialist hubs Okay.

In rural areas Right. That can then provide outreach to the surrounding schools. So kind of a centralized resource Exactly. That can then be shared. Which makes a lot of sense in rural areas where things are more spread out.

Yeah. And Kim Johnson raised a very concerning issue What was that? About the institutionalization of children with complex learning disabilities and autism. Oh, wow. And she highlighted that this is disproportionately affecting black children.

Right. So another example of inequality within the system. Yeah. She's really worrying. And she emphasized that we need to learn from the mistakes of the past.

Yeah. We don't wanna be repeating the So many times we hear the same things again and again. It's about making sure that history doesn't keep repeating itself. And Munira Wilson pointed out the huge cost pressures that are coming from a lack of state special school places. So what's happening is that local authorities are having to send children to private special schools.

Which are much more expensive. Much more expensive. And that's just adding to the financial burden. And she asked a really interesting question Go on. About whether the government would consider including those private special schools in their proposed profit cap measures.

Ah, so limiting how much profit they can make? Exactly. Because at the moment, it seems like they're profiting from a lack of state provision. Which is a real ethical dilemma, isn't it? It is.

But the minister didn't really give a clear answer on that. So that's something to keep an eye on. So as you can see, we've covered a lot of ground. A lot of ground. And it's clear that the SENS system is facing pressure from all sides.

Yeah. It seems to be at a breaking point. You've heard concerns about assessment Mhmm. Teacher training Yeah. Funding Huge issue.

The quality of those EHCPs Mhmm. And some really big systemic issues that need to be addressed. And it's about translating those warm words into tangible action. That's gonna make the real difference. And so I think a key question for our listeners is this.

Yeah. What stood out to you the most from all of this? What resonated? What resonated? Yeah.

What got you thinking? Were there particular aspects, you know, of assessment or teacher preparation or the complexities of funding that really struck a chord? Mhmm. And what further questions do you have Yeah. About the future of SEND in The UK?

It's a topic that deserves ongoing attention. Absolutely. And we'll be keeping a close eye on it. Uh-huh. So please subscribe to the bench report Yes.

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