Special educational needs services in England face \u201ctotal collapse\u201d, with councils on course to have run up debts of \u00a318bn by the end of the decade as a result of increasing numbers of children requiring extra teaching support in schools.<\/p>\n
Without urgent structural reform of the system, the cost of accelerating demand for special educational needs and disability (Send) support could push about 59 upper-tier authorities into effective bankruptcy by March 2028, councils have warned.<\/p>\n
The government is now preparing long-delayed and potentially controversial changes to the system aimed at putting a lid on rising spending while meeting the specialist needs of more children within the mainstream schools system.<\/p>\n
A report<\/a> published on Friday by the County Councils Network (CCN) called on ministers to write off councils\u2019 accumulated Send debts alongside legislative changes and reforms to Send appeal tribunals to reduce access to specialist support. Parents would fiercely oppose such changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe system is heading towards total collapse in little over four years. This could mean families facing even longer waits for support, councils facing a level of demand that the system was never designed for, and local authorities staring down unimaginable deficits of almost \u00a318bn,\u201d said Matthew Hicks, the CCN chair.<\/p>\n The Department for Education said it had \u201cinherited a Send system on its knees\u201d leaving thousands of families struggling to get the right support. \u201cWe\u2019re determined to put that right by improving mainstream inclusion so every child can thrive at their local school,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Send spending has ballooned in recent years, triggered by steep rises in demand for and cost of education and health care plans (EHCPs). These give children and young people up to the age of 25 the legal right to support from councils for conditions such as autism, and speech and language difficulty.<\/p>\n According to the CCN report, the number of EHCPs issued rose to a record 638,000 in 2024-25, with as many as 840,000 forecast to have EHCPs by 2028-29, equivalent to one in 20 children and young people.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a level of demand with which the system was never designed to cope, and as such, parents are facing an adversarial system in which they feel they have to battle relentlessly to get assessment and support for their child\u2019s educational needs,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n Autism and other neurodiversity needs, social and emotional health, and language and communication difficulties account for more than two-thirds of EHCPs in English schools, the report says.<\/p>\n Surging numbers of EHCPs \u2013 which in theory guarantee suitable levels of educational support for individual children \u2013 have forced councils increasingly to rely on private specialist schools, some owned by private equity investors, to meet demand.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The CCN report estimates that 34,000 pupils are in special schools at an annual average annual cost per place of \u00a372,000, far higher than the average yearly cost per place of \u00a310,000 in mainstream schools.<\/p>\n