ITV News investigation reveals shocking scale of special educational needs crisis across UK

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Exclusive research for ITV News Regions and Nations reveals the cost and consequences of an education system that is failing some of the most vulnerable children in society.

In a far-reaching investigation, ITV News’ exclusive poll combined with its largest-ever Freedom of Information project reveals:

• Nearly a third of parents (30%) have had to use the legal system to get their children the right provision;

• Over half of children (58%) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met;

• 36% of those children spent between a month and a year out of school, while 7% had spent more than a year out;

• Of the parents who used the legal system, 43% spent between £1,000 and £5,000, while nearly a third 29% spent between £5,000 and £50,000;

• The number of parents appealing over improper provisions is rising;

• Councils are spending millions fighting parents in the courts - only to lose most cases;

Many families are being forced to take their appeal all the way to the First Tier Tribunal, pleading their case in front of a judge.

The findings have been described as a "tragedy" by major charities, with the National Autistic Society warning the research should be "a huge wake-up call" for the new government, and calling for widespread reform of the SEND system.

In response, the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson pledged that the new government would fix the "broken system" but warned change would not be quick.

“This diagnosis is damning: educational outcomes for children with SEND are flatlining after years when councils and parents have been pitted against each other," she told ITV News.

“This government will take a different approach, whether it’s transforming the early years to intervene earlier and deliver better outcomes for children, or launching our curriculum and assessment review to put high and rising standards and inclusion together at the heart of every school.

“We will restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need in mainstream school, if that is the right place for them. And that there will always be a place in special schools for children with the most complex needs.

“We have a broken system in desperate need of long-term renewal. I won’t make false promises, change won’t feel as quick as parents – or I – would like. I will make sure our approach is fully planned and delivered in concert with parents, schools, councils, and everyone who works with children.”

ITV News surveyed 1,161 parents of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across England and Wales. The fieldwork, carried out by Opinium, took place between 24 May and 9 July.

Mel Merritt, head of policy and Campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: "It is families and children that are really buckling under this pressure.

"That ITV's research has found that a third of families have had to go down legal routes just to get the support they're entitled to is ridiculous, and means we're storing up such massive problems for these poor children."

ITV News Nations and Regions submitted Freedom of Information requests to councils across England and Wales, and the education authority in Northern Ireland - and received responses from over 100 councils revealing the scale of the problem.

NHS England says that a child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities if they have a learning difficulty or disability that means they need special health and education support in school. If they do, an application can be made for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) to their local council.

Every parent applying for such a plan, which is a legally binding document setting out the provision a child with SEND requires, can appeal against the outcome of that process. This could be instances where the local authority has decided not to offer extra provision, or where there is a disagreement about the offered provision - such as a child with SEND being given a mainstream school place.

Across the country, thousands of children are affected - with many thousands more of their relatives feeling the impact.

Holly Lockwood-Waduge's two daughters Elyia, nine, and Amaya, six, are both autistic and though they are both in school near their home in Chelmsford near Essex, she fears that support will not last.

"Us as parents, we're just fighting constantly to get heard and we’re exhausted," she told ITV News. "It is just emotionally draining, physically draining. Then it just gets to a point where you can’t function anymore, but the demand is still there from everyday life."

In Oxfordshire, 15-year-old Caleb should be taking his GCSEs next year but has not attended full-time education for two years. He is autistic and has ADHD, and cannot cope with the environment at his mainstream school.

Having been excluded from school several times while younger, his mother requested a special school placement but it took two years for the council to agree. He's now been on the waiting list for six months but there are no spaces and, given he is due to start Year 11 in September, his mum says it is now too late.

"I'm angry," she says. "I’m exhausted from the fighting. It’s emotional because I look at Caleb and I just know that he’s got so much to give... but give him that opportunity."

Along with the research, the investigation also gathered data from more than 100 councils which revealed:

• Across England, the number of appeals lodged against councils over improper SEND provision rose by 80% between 2021 and 2023;

• Of these appeals, the number ending up in tribunal rose by 46%;

• As of May 2024, 20,834 children across England were awaiting assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP);

• 4,407 children across England with EHC plans were waiting for school places, as of May 2024.

Councillor Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, said fundamental reform was needed to help councils struggling with rising demand.

"In councils we want the very best for all of our children and young people and it's the system that is broken, and we need this government to really press forward with their promises of reforming and refunding it.

"There is a funding deficit which is set to rise to about £5bn by 2026. The number of children that are coming into the system has gone up dramatically in the last 10 years by about 140%.

"The system is failing parents, we've been calling for reforms to it for several years now and we're calling for the new government to fast-track those reforms."

Katie Ghose, chief executive of Kids, one of the Disabled Children's Partnership member charities, welcomed ITV News' research.

"It mirrors our own research that families with disabled children are in a desperate situation - they are struggling to get their hands on support and this means their children are missing out on education and not getting access to the vital therapies they need to thrive," she said.

"The desperate situation of families with disabled children who are struggling to get their hands on the vital support their children need, needs all the attention that we can give it, so it's good to see this new research but it's shocking to see that half of parents are having to resort to lengthy legal battles to get the support that their disabled children needs."

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