Responding to the announcement of more money targeted towards making mainstream schools more inclusive, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the union NASUWT, said: “£1.6bn over three years may sound like a lot of money, but it equates to just a few thousand pounds per setting.”
He said it was “ridiculous” to suggest the system could be overhauled with that amount of funding.
Luke Sibieta, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, described the new funding, which is being allocated to SEND from within the Department for Education’s budget, as a “reasonably significant change”.
But he said reform would be a “long and complicated process”, adding that a new funding system would need to be developed “to ensure resources are targeted across schools to where they are needed”.
The government will need to manage that transition carefully to minimise any disruption to existing support for pupils with SEND, he said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the changes would mean families get “tailored support built around their child’s individual needs, available on their doorstep”.
“Whatever their background, wherever they live – this government will do right by every child,” he added.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the reforms would be a “watershed moment” for children, and a “major milestone in this government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child”.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, she said ministers would not be withdrawing “effective support”, and stressed that the government would be “spending more money”, not less, on providing for children with SEND.