Special educational needs bill in England hits record £10bn a year
£10bn!
Special educational needs bill in England hits record £10bn a year
The bill for special needs education in England has hit £10bn a year, with the number of children and young people entitled to government support in the form of education, health and care plans set to double to 1 million within a decade, a landmark report has found.
The investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that despite record levels of spending there had been no signs of improvement in the lives of children with special educational needs (SEN).
The report said local authorities were being forced towards insolvency by rising demand for special school places and “high-needs” funding for specialists such as therapists, psychologists and teaching assistants.
“Although the Department for Education has increased high-needs funding, the SEN system is still not delivering for children and their families, and DfE’s current actions are unlikely to resolve the challenges,” said Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO.
“The government has not yet identified a solution to manage local authority deficits arising from SEN costs, which ongoing savings programmes will not address. Given that the current system costs over £10bn a year, and that demand for SEN provision is forecast to increase further, government needs to think urgently about how its current investment can be better spent, including through more inclusive education, and developing a cohesive whole-system approach.”
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the system had been “neglected to the point of crisis” by the previous government.
“I am determined to rebuild families’ confidence in a system so many rely on – so there will be no more sticking-plaster politics and short-termism when it comes to the life chances of some of our most vulnerable children,” she said.
“The reform families are crying out for will take time, but with a greater focus on mainstream provision and more early intervention, we will deliver the change that is so desperately needed.”
