The number of pupils and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) has increased by the biggest amount since the pandemic, rising above 575,000.
The latest figure, from the census day in January 2024, shows there were 575,963 EHCPs in place - up 11.4 per cent on the previous year.
This is the largest rise in the past seven years, according to Department for Education data published today.
The number of EHCPs has been rising at an average of 10 per cent each year since their introduction in 2014.
Data for 2017 shows there was a 12.1 per cent increase in the number of young people with either EHCPs or statements of special educational needs compared with 2016.
The number of new EHCPs has also continued to rise, with more than a quarter more (26.6 per cent) issued during the 2023 calendar year compared with 2022. The number of new plans issued increased by 17,722 to 84,400.
SEND support: More requests for EHCPs
And today’s data shows that the number of initial requests for an EHCP in the calendar year has continued to increase: there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHCP during 2023, up from 114,500 in 2022.
Apart from a decrease in 2020 - when the Covid pandemic was disrupting both education and local authority services - initial requests have increased each year since EHCPs were introduced.
The government has said previously that the aim of its planned reforms for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is to improve early intervention and support to reduce the demand for EHCPs.
The ongoing rise in EHCPs comes amid major financial pressure on the system. Almost 40 councils have agreed bailout deals with the government to help reduce their high-needs spending deficits.
Under Safety Valve deals, the government provides extra funding to bring down or clear council deficits in return for an agreement from the local authority to reform its SEND provision so that spending is returned to a level in line with budgets.
This approach has sparked concerns that it’s leading to targeted reductions in provision and support for pupils with SEND.
EHCPs can remain in place until a young person with SEND is 25.
The DfE data shows that there has been a very slight increase in the number of new EHCPs being issued within the target of 20 weeks - although only just over half were issued within this time frame.
In the 2023 calendar year, 50.3 per cent of new EHCPs were issued within 20 weeks. This was an increase compared with 2022, when the figure was 49.2 per cent.
SEND system ‘on brink of collapse’
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Failure to match rising demand with appropriate government investment has brought the whole SEND system to the brink of collapse, with schools being unable to afford the costs of SEND provision, a lack of places available in special schools, and local authorities having huge high-needs deficits.”
He called for the next government to ensure SEND funding matches need “as a matter of urgency”, urging policymakers to put more focus on supporting specialist early intervention in the longer term, to give children the support they need before it escalates to the point of requiring EHCPs.
“A decade of cuts and underinvestment has meant that there just isn’t the provision available for children,” said Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union.
Mr Whiteman said the next government should write off council high-needs budget deficits, carry out a proper “needs analysis” to determine what sufficient funding looks like, and review place planning and sufficiency of specialist places.
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