Daily Junction.mobi portalThe UK's SEND system is more inclusive than many countries—most children with SEND attend mainstream schools, rather than being segregated in special schools. But the system is underfunded and overstretched compared to European leaders.
Finland has a highly inclusive system with 20% of pupils receiving some form of special support, similar to the UK. But support is delivered through well-resourced mainstream schools with specialist teachers, small class sizes, and embedded therapists. Waiting times for assessments are 4-6 weeks, compared to 18 months in the UK.
Sweden provides extensive support for children with SEND, including personal assistants, adapted curricula, and specialist equipment. Funding is generous (3% of education spending, compared to 1.5% in the UK), and most children with SEND attend mainstream schools with high-quality support.
Germany has a more segregated system, with 7% of pupils attending special schools (Förderschulen). However, special schools are well-resourced, with small class sizes (8-12 pupils), specialist teachers, and embedded therapists. Mainstream schools also receive significant funding for inclusive education.
The UK's challenge is to maintain inclusivity while providing adequate funding and support. Currently, it is failing on both counts.
Fixing the SEND crisis requires urgent action and significant investment.
First, increase High Needs funding by £3.6 billion per year to close the funding gap and enable local authorities to meet demand without bankrupting themselves.
Second, enforce the 20-week EHCP assessment deadline with penalties for local authorities that fail to comply. Invest in educational psychologists, therapists, and SEND teams to reduce waiting times.
Third, build 60,000 new special school places by 2030, as promised, and ensure they are located close to where children live to reduce travel times and costs.
Fourth, improve SEND training for teachers. Make SEND a core component of initial teacher training, and require all teachers to complete regular SEND CPD.
Fifth, increase funding for SEN Support so that mainstream schools can provide high-quality support without escalating children to EHCPs. This would reduce demand for EHCPs and improve outcomes for the 1.1 million children on SEN Support.
Sixth, tackle exclusions and off-rolling with stronger enforcement and penalties for schools that unlawfully exclude children with SEND.
Seventh, integrate health and education services so that children can access therapy and mental health support in school, rather than waiting months for NHS appointments.
1.6 million children (17.9% of pupils) have identified SEND, but only 500,000 have EHCPs guaranteeing support. The remaining 1.1 million rely on underfunded SEN Support. EHCP requests have surged by 140% since 2015, but only 49% of assessments are completed within the legal 20-week deadline. Average wait times are 18 months, with some families waiting 3+ years. 60,000 children are on waiting lists for special schools operating at 110% capacity. The SEND system faces a £3.6 billion funding gap, pushing 95% of local authorities into deficit and threatening bankruptcy. 12,000 families per year appeal to tribunal, winning 90% of cases, showing local authorities are unlawfully refusing support. Fixing the crisis requires £3.6 billion additional funding, enforcement of the 20-week deadline, 60,000 new special school places, and better SEND training for teachers.