SEND reforms ‘too little too late’ to help generation of children ‘failed’ by the system

Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker reports as the government unveils new SEND measures, but families and charities say this will 'barely touch the sides' of the crisis

Long-awaited government plans to reform support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) include thousands of new specialist school places and a focus on early intervention.

33 special free schools will be built in England, in addition to the 49 already announced. Training will be expanded for 5,000 special educational needs co-ordinators and 400 educational psychologists to improve earlier diagnoses. Plans to digitise and speed up paperwork should mean that parents receive extra support earlier.

Across the country, thousands of families have spent years fighting a system that they say is badly broken and chronically underfunded. Even the government has admitted SEND provision is failing some of the most vulnerable children, who wait too long for a diagnosis and the right help.

Unable to cope at a mainstream school, eight-year-old Bo has been left without any formal education since September.  She’s been diagnosed with autism, but long delays accessing help or support in Leeds have left her increasingly isolated.

Tom Elliott and his wife Tesse Elliott-Hoogstraten speak about the sacrifices and struggles they have faced as they say the SEND system has not supported their eight-year-old daughter Bo

Her father Tom Elliott told ITV News “the anxiety she experiences is hard to fathom. She’d have a physical breakdown every day when it was time to go to school.”

“Her mental health is so poor that actually presenting her with any form of education will be a challenge. The doors are constantly closed, you get the feeling that your child isn’t important.”

Her parents say they have had to fight every step of the way against an underfunded system that they claim is stacked against them.

The impact on the family has been devastating. Bo’s mother, Tesse Elliott-Hoogstraten, is currently on sick leave due to stress and doesn’t know when she’ll be able to go back to work.

“Bo is now to the point when she doesn’t dare to leave the house. A lot of her trauma could have been prevented if they’d listen to us, and we’d been pinpointed in the right direction,” she said.

Bo’s story is not unusual. This is a pattern being repeated up and down the country because there simply aren’t enough places at special educational needs schools. The government says the reforms announced today will transform lives.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb explains 'ground-breaking' plan to improve special education measures in schools

Claire Coutinho, minister for children, families and wellbeing, said: “The Improvement Plan that we are publishing today sets out systemic reforms to standards, teacher training and access to specialists as well as thousands of new places at specialist schools so that every child gets the help they need.”

Campaigners and charities have accused the government of failing to grasp the gravity of this crisis, describing the reforms as ‘not radical enough.’

Sharon Firth, founder of Beat Autism, a charity support hundreds of families in Wakefield, questioned the length of time it would take for these policies to be implemented.

"It sounds fantastic on paper, but putting it into to practice is a different thing all together. It is too little too late. At the moment all the schools are at capacity to overflowing. It’s going to take a long time to get these schools built and staff trained. What about the children that need help now?” Ms Firth said.

Tim Nicholl from National Autistic Society says the new plans won't go far enough

Meanwhile, councils are struggling to meet the needs of SEND children within existing budgets.

Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “While the measures announced will help to fix some of the problems with the current system, they do not go far enough in addressing the fundamental cost and demand issues.”

“Improving levels of mainstream inclusion will be crucial to the success of any reforms, reducing the reliance on costly special schools and other settings.”

It’s estimated that the gap between the cost of providing SEND support and the funding available currently stands at an estimated £1.9 billion, rising to £3.6 billion by 2025 with no intervention.

Efforts to fix the crisis are welcomed as families have spent years trying to get the right support, but some fear these changes will come too late to make a real difference to their children’s lives.

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