Over the past six years, high-needs funding for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has soared - from just over £6 billion in 2018 to a projected £10.7 billion by 2024/25.
This increase in funding isn’t surprising, given that education and health care plans (EHCPs) have risen from 2.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent of pupils nationally. But despite this massive investment, the recent National Audit Office (NAO) report has laid out starkly how this funding is not translating into improved outcomes for pupils.
We’re pouring more money into the system, but the system is failing to deliver meaningful change.
SEND and EHCP funding
I’ve read reports of local authorities top-slicing the initial pupil funding figure to plug gaps in the high-needs budget. While this may balance the books, it does not solve the actual problem.
The sector is trying to do its best when faced with all these challenges.
We have become better at identifying needs and understanding SEND, and more settings are adopting needs-based support systems, rather than waiting for official diagnoses.
Early identification is, of course, crucial - especially for speech and language needs.
Speech and language support
At E-ACT, we train four staff members per school to support pupils with speech and language needs, using Elklan training.
Elklan is currently lobbying the Department for Education to introduce a new higher-level communication practitioner role, similar to a higher-level teaching assistant, to provide support across both universal and targeted levels.
If every school had this role, it would reduce the need for increased support at a later age and work hand in hand with the NHS support offer, which at present remains inconsistent.
EHCP wait times
But, we also need clearer standards around expectations for mainstream schools.
The national standards in the improvement plan are welcome - now is the time to press ahead in delivering these, not pushing back to 2026 as recently published.
Some local authorities, such as Birmingham, are making strides in developing their “Ordinarily Available Provision” framework, clearly establishing what schools should have in place as their core offer of support.
But the current system does not support promotion of an inclusive environment - and schools that are inclusive find themselves effectively financially punished by being so.
Schools should have the freedom to implement an appropriate curriculum for individual pupils, maintaining high ambition. And as part of this, the health service must play a visible role in the services that they can provide.
Meanwhile, I welcome the enhanced focus on training for teaching assistants and developing them into experts across areas of need, set to launch in September 2025. But this enhanced level of development must be reflected in teaching assistants’ salaries.
Ofsted and inclusion
A national inclusion dashboard would enable local authorities to ensure every setting is supporting the drive for inclusion and a fair distribution of support across the sector.
It is widely believed that this will form part of Ofsted’s new checklist for inspection. But it must go beyond that and ensure notional budgets are positioned in the correct way. Ultimately, funding is there - it’s how it’s being allocated that demands immediate reform and transparency.
We must make these changes at pace. Without urgent action, we risk continuing the cycle of unequal support and underperformance for pupils with SEND. It’s time for the DfE, local authorities, and health services to take meaningful, coordinated steps to ensure every child receives the support they deserve.
Simon Tanner is national director of SEND at E-ACT
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