In a society that prides itself on equal opportunities, how can we justify rationing essential support for some of our most vulnerable children? A damning report by the National Audit Office has exposed the extent to which the English education system is failing pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
A System Stretched to Breaking Point
The definition of a special educational need is beautifully simple and child-centered: it means a child has either significantly greater difficulty learning than most others their age, or a disability that prevents them from accessing mainstream school facilities. A range of conditions can make engaging with school more challenging, from social and emotional difficulties to speech and language issues to disorders like autism and ADHD.
In theory, the system should be focused on what each child needs to access education. In practice, as children’s services and school budgets have been slashed even as need has risen, it has devolved into a hideously complex and adversarial process.
Rationing of Early Support
Schools are expected to meet the needs of most SEND pupils – about 13% of all students – from their mainstream budgets. But overstretched schools are increasingly struggling to do so. For children with higher levels of need, around 5% overall, parents or schools can seek a statutory assessment from the local authority to secure an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
However, obtaining an EHC plan is a lengthy battle in itself. In the meantime, children are missing key developmental milestones, becoming disengaged from learning, and ultimately requiring even more support. It’s a viciously cyclical drain on parents forced to fight to have their children’s deepening unmet needs recognized, while overall SEND funding has not increased to match demand.
Scarcity Breeds Adversity
Where resources are scarce, two-track systems inevitably suffer. Rather than proactively providing early support when difficulties first emerge, the limited help available is strictly rationed to only the most extreme crises. As one education professional noted:
We’re constantly firefighting, running to stand still. There’s no space for early intervention when all your energy is spent on the most severe cases that can no longer be ignored.
– SEND coordinator at a primary school
This approach guarantees a perpetual cycle of extreme need, as opportunities for prevention are endlessly pushed aside in favor of triaging only the most urgent situations. It’s an inhumane and ineffective way to support some of society’s most vulnerable children.
A Moral and Economic Imperative
Championing the rights and potential of children with additional needs should be a defining priority for any government. Beyond the undeniable moral case, there are compelling economic reasons to invest early in supporting these children to engage fully in education.
As the National Audit Office concluded, there is no evidence increased SEND spending has improved outcomes, because need is growing faster than funding. Provision is so limited to begin with that we are trapping ourselves in a reactive spiral of racing to support only the most critical cases.
Breaking this destructive pattern will require not just reforming zeal from the new Labour government, but serious financial commitment. No child should ever be written off or left behind by an education system that fails to meet their needs. Rationing support is a false economy – the social and economic costs of not acting are too devastating to ignore.
