Spotlight on SEND: Almost 700 children with additional needs waiting for Midlands school place

Almost 700 children with special educational needs across the Midlands are not receiving a formal education, ITV News Central has found.

The figures obtained through a freedom of information request show that, as of May this year, at least 684 children in the region were waiting for school places.

The data is yet further evidence of a funding gap, which means some children aren't able to access the specialist support they need.

There are more than 1.5 million school pupils in England with special educational needs.

One of them is 9-year-old Gracie Foley from Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham who is autistic and has a learning disability.

Since going to nursery, she has found mainstream learning difficult and her school attendance record this year is just 6%.

She was given an Education Health and Care Plan or EHCP - a document that sets out the special educational provision that a child requires.

Her parents were under the impression that it would grant her access to a more specialist school, where numerous professionals, including her paediatrician, believe she should be.

But Birmingham City Council says there isn't one available and that the needs of many children who have an EHCP can be met in mainstream schools.

It says where concerns are raised, it will work with families. But Gracie's mum Alice says she cannot accept that decision.

She said: “Why are they allowed to make that decision that we should send her back to mainstream when that hasn’t worked for four years?"

"She loves to learn. I think she could have the capabilities of having a good job. But if we’re not providing that structure and that support for her to be able to achieve that, then what do we expect them to become?”

ITV Central has also uncovered that 2,470 children across the Midlands are currently waiting to be assessed for an EHCP.

It follows a separate investigation by ITV News earlier this year which revealed that the numbers of children and young people with EHCPs has gone up every year since 2010, having risen 23% between 2021 and 2022.

It means more and more children are having to wait to receive specialist support.

Mel Merritt from the National Autistic Society, says the numbers are evidence of an education system in crisis.

Mel said: “This should be a huge wake up call for just how broken the system is and we need to return to having a system where if you’ve got a special educational need you can get the support you need because we know that that just pays dividends for your health, your education and your career prospects.”

The battle to secure specialist provision can also take place later on in education.

Dhi is 21. He’s autistic, has a learning disability and has ADHD.  

He lives at home with his parents in Billesley in Birmingham and has spent all of his life in specialist education, which his mum Kate says has been crucial in meeting his needs.Kate said: “On the whole that journey was fantastic because obviously they’re a specialist placement, they understood his autism. As he grew we realised he had ADHD as well, they worked very well with that and then at 19 we left and he moved onto the college he’s at now.”

But even with an EHCP, which runs until he’s 25, Dhi’s parents are facing a battle in securing vital funding. He’ll have to leave his specialist college early and without the experience of living on his own, which could have been secured through a residential placement.

Kate says she now worries about how well Dhi will be able to cope on his own in the future.

She said: Dhi’s an only child, he doesn’t have any cousins. Obviously his dad and I aren’t going to be around forever and the idea of him being alone in the world as an adult with all the needs that he has, you can’t think of anything worse can you really? Your child being on their own with no support. It’s terrifying.”

Back in Sutton Coldfield, Gracie’s parents are now preparing to take Birmingham City Council to court to try to secure her a place at a specialist school.

A poll by ITV News has revealed more than half of parents of children with special educational needs have used the legal system to try to get the right provision.

For Gracie’s family, there are added pressures: Her dad, Stuart, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago and has been in and out of hospital. 

Despite his condition, he’s determined that Gracie gets the right support.

Stuart said: “We want her to have the same educational access as every other child but just because she has additional needs she doesn’t seem to have access to an education system that she deserves.”

"I can’t say for certain that a lot of my relapses have been because of stress but you just don’t know. I don’t know that if we didn’t have this added stress in our lives if I’d be able to settle. I can’t say it is and can’t say it isn’t but it doesn’t help. I can definitely say it doesn’t help.”

Having already decided that Gracie won’t be going back to a mainstream school, Alice and Stuart say they now face an anxious wait to learn whether there might be a specialist school place for her for the next academic year.

If there isn’t, they will go to tribunal. 

However, that could take almost a year, meaning Gracie is likely to fall further behind.

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