SEND Reforms At Risk Of Further Delay As Government Tries To Avoid Backlash
4 min read
There is growing concern that long-awaited reforms to the special education needs and disabilities system risk further delay, PoliticsHome understands.
The current provision of care for children with special educational needs and disabilities, commonly referred to as SEND, has been described by the National Audit Office as "financially unsustainable", with rising demand putting the system under severe strain.
The Labour government has committed to reforming the system, with the Department for Education having pledged to set out details in its upcoming schools white paper.
School leaders were initially told by the government that the reforms would be ready for publication in September. The date was then pushed back to next month.
However, multiple sources familiar with the work have told PoliticsHome there is a growing expectation that they will be pushed back again, with some figures concerned that they may not see detailed proposals until the beginning of next year.
PoliticsHome understands that there is concern within government over a political backlash to proposed SEND reforms, akin to the Labour MP anger that forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer to drop planned welfare cuts earlier this year. In July, PoliticsHome reported that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was leading an operation to engage Labour MPs to avoid another backbench rebellion.
PoliticsHome understands that the DfE and the Treasury had settled on a funding settlement for SEND reforms earlier this year, but that the welfare rebellion forced the government to look again at what it was preparing to put before Labour MPs.
Any move to expand SEND in mainstream schools would need a “degree of double funding” in the short term, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank warned last year.
Proposals are expected to reduce the number of individual Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) — statutory documents that give parents the legal right to support for their child — amid a government desire for more pupils with SEND to be educated within mainstream schools, or in on-site units.
However, this approach has prompted concern about the potential impact on children who need additional support.
It is believed that Phillipson is unlikely to want to publish the plans during the ongoing Labour deputy leadership contest, as any backlash within Labour would risk damaging her chances of defeating Lucy Powell in the race to succeed Angela Rayner. The winner of that contest will be announced on 25 October.
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told PoliticsHome he "would not be surprised if there is a delay to the publication of the schools white paper, as it is a huge undertaking at a time when the Department for Education has a great deal on its plate in terms of policy work and delivery".
Di’Iasio added that he would prefer for publication of the reforms to "take a little more time to get this right, if it needs that time, rather than try to rush it out, particularly as it involves something as important as reform of the SEND system".
"Our wider concern is how all these policy strands come together into a coherent whole. The combination during the autumn term of major changes to the accountability system, a schools white paper, a further education white paper, and the outcome of the curriculum and assessment review, is a lot to coordinate and could easily become a horrible muddle.
"Communication and clarity are key to ensuring that this lands in a way that makes sense to schools, colleges, and families.”
A Department for Education spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “This government inherited a SEND system left on its knees – which is why we are listening closely to families and teachers as we work to make sure more children can achieve and thrive in their local school.
“We’re already delivering change across the SEND system, including investing £740m to create more specialist school places and investing in earlier intervention for children with additional needs."
