What should the next government’s priorities be when it comes to education? Whether it’s the dire state of recruitment and retention, the impact of increasing child poverty or the state of school buildings, everything feels broken.
But if I were forced to choose one thing to focus on, it would have to be special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision.
There is simply no avoiding the fact that the current SEND system feels like it is failing everyone: pupils, parents, teachers and leaders. It is in a crisis that has been over a decade in the making.
At the time, the 2014 reforms were lauded as being “the biggest” in a generation for pupils with SEND. They not only failed to live up to their promise, but arguably made matters worse, driving up parental expectations while school budgets were being significantly squeezed.
This latter point is key. Overall funding pressures on schools and the erosion of specialist support services in the wake of austerity have made it increasingly difficult for mainstream schools to meet pupils’ needs, driving a greater demand for education, health and care plans and more specialist provision.
We have also seen more parents turning to and succeeding with expensive SEND tribunals to secure support for their children. All of this has put even greater pressure on already stretched local authority budgets.
Struggling to cope
We now find ourselves facing a situation where a significant proportion of local authorities are struggling to cope.
Not only is there a desperate shortage of specialist places in many areas, but a significant proportion are also now running high needs budget deficits, with over half of all local authorities now subject to one of the government’s financial “support” programmes.
One thing is clear: the current situation is simply not sustainable, and whichever party forms the next government will be unable to ignore the problem for long.
The “F” word
Attempts to fix the crisis have been wholly inadequate. While there were some sensible proposals in the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan unveiled last March, I have met very few people who are confident that it will solve the current crisis.
When it comes to identifying potential solutions, it is almost impossible to avoid the “F” word: funding.
As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has established, overall school funding has been effectively frozen at 2010 levels, while at the same time, pupils’ needs have become increasingly complex.
Any additional money that has gone into the system in the form of increased high needs spending has sunk into a black hole, being used to either reduce local authority deficits or in a vain attempt to keep up with the additional demand the system is facing.
All parties appear keen to send the message that public spending will remain tight after the election. But there will have to be an honest conversation about the level of funding required, at least to get the system back on an even keel.
We cannot limp along with a system of ongoing bail-outs for local authorities in the hope that they will be able to find ways to cut spending and still meet pupils’ needs.
Nor can we continue to expect special schools to be able to continue to offer children the support they need based on 2013 funding levels.
Early intervention
Beyond funding, I don’t have a quick solution for this crisis.
But if I were in government, I would be looking to prioritise the rebuilding of early intervention services for the youngest children and their families so that support can be put in place as early as possible.
The incoming government will face difficult choices, including tough fiscal decisions. But there are few higher priorities than making sure the needs of some of the most vulnerable children are properly met.
James Bowen is assistant general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union
