Teachers should have “mandatory” training on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and be able to access more support to help with identifying pupils’ needs, according to a report published today.
The report by the Centre for Young Lives and the research partnership Child of the North also calls on the government to “improve and extend training opportunities” on SEND for professionals and families.
In a foreword to the report, Anne Longfield, the executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives, and Dr Camilla Kingdon, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, say: ”The report also highlights the lack of training on some SEND-related issues in teacher training. It is not surprising then that many school staff have gaps in their understanding of SEND issues.”
The policy proposals come as findings by the Local Government Association (LGA) this week revealed that the attainment for pupils with SEND had not improved in over a decade.
Calls to roll out tools to ‘identify’ pupil needs
A “one-stop shop” online resource should also be developed to provide professionals and families with information and support on SEND, the report continued - which it says should be “co-produced with individuals with lived experiences”.
It adds that an electronic development and support tool (EDST) that generates a “simple report summarising a child’s support needs” should be “developed and rolled out nationally to facilitate earlier identification and support of SEND”.
It highlights how this device is already being trialled in 42 schools within Bradford for Year 1 pupils, and says that rolling this out nationally would be “game-changing”.
It also calls for the use of data from “holistic measures of a child’s development” to better identify pupils with increased likelihood of having SEND.
‘Postcode lottery’ in EHCPs
The report’s authors describe a “postcode lottery” in the current SEND system, “with identification and provision varying significantly depending on where in England a child or young person lives”.
In 2022, 49 per cent of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) were produced within the 20-week statutory limit, the report says.
The percentage of EHCPs produced within 20 weeks in the North East of England in the same year ranged from 98 per cent in Gateshead to only 13 per cent in a neighbouring local authority, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Figures released by the DfE last month showed that the number of EHCPs and requests for assessments has seen the biggest rise since the pandemic.
Fears of ‘broken’ SEND system
Ms Longfield, who is a former children’s commissioner for England, said: “The SEND system is broken...Tackling the delays, the poor early identification and the postcode lottery they have inherited should be a priority for new ministers”.
The Labour government has promised it will ensure “school admissions decisions account for the needs of communities”, including “the inclusion of pupils” with SEND.
Speaking to the DfE earlier this month, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has also said that tackling issues around “the support and outcomes for children with SEND and their families” is one of the “key issues” for the new Labour government.
“Ensuring that children with SEND have the support they need will also be essential to tackling the school attendance crisis and to meeting the new government’s ambitions to widen opportunity,” Ms Longfield added.
Commenting on the report’s findings, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she agrees that “far too often, education does not meet the needs of children with SEND and too few EHCPs are delivered on time”.
She added: “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.”
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