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MPs are urging the government not to eliminate individual care plans for children with special educational needs, according to a new report by the Education Select Committee. The report also emphasizes the necessity for new minimum standards of support for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in schools, along with additional training for teachers. The Department for Education (DfE) is set to reveal plans for reforming Send provision in England this autumn, following prior concerns that education, health, and care plans (EHCPs) might be phased out.
Over the past eight months, the Education Select Committee has been investigating methods to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Send system in England and improve outcomes for children and young people. Their recommendations to the DfE include maintaining EHCPs and Send tribunals as a form of parental accountability, establishing statutory national minimum standards for school support in special educational needs, providing more Send training for school staff, investing in state specialist schools, and increasing per-pupil Send funding in line with inflation. The National Audit Office reported last year that the overall Send system in England was financially unsustainable, despite significant increases in high-needs funding over the past decade.
In England, the number of children and young people with EHCPs has risen to 638,745, the highest since their introduction ten years ago. While nearly 1.3 million pupils receive support for special educational needs without an EHCP, many parents value the legal rights provided by these plans and advocate for their implementation. Helen Hayes MP, the chair of the Education Select Committee, suggests a complete overhaul of the Send system is necessary to establish a well-resourced, inclusive mainstream education system that can reduce costs. Paul Whiteman, from the school leaders’ union NAHT, stresses the importance of multi-agency collaboration to adequately support children and young people with special educational needs and calls for increased funding to sustain the reformed system.
Tracy Winchester, a parent and advocate for children with special educational needs in Worcestershire, has fought through multiple tribunals to secure the necessary support for her son, Rowan, who has had an EHCP since he was five. Tracy is concerned about potential changes to EHCPs in the upcoming reforms and emphasizes the significance of legal rights in ensuring her son’s education needs are met. The DfE spokesperson acknowledges the need for evidence-based support for every child with special educational needs and highlights ongoing initiatives to improve support availability, teacher training, and family hubs in local areas
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