Special educational needs system has burst, headteacher warns

Children with complex needs are being sent to private schools up to 200 miles away from home because there is not enough capacity in the state system, a BBC investigation has found.

Councils struggling to cope with an unprecedented number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are increasingly reliant upon private providers.

Headteachers say funding from government has not kept pace with soaring demand, meaning both mainstream and special schools are struggling to cope.

As a result, local authorities say they are having to spend millions of pounds on independent providers which are sometimes located far away from the child’s home.

When mainstream schools are unable to meet pupils’ additional needs, an application can be made for that child to be granted an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP).

These detailed legal documents spell out the support needed and oblige the child’s local authority to provide it.

The number of children and young people with an EHCP in England stood at a record high of 600,000 in June – up 70% from January 2019.

During the last five years, the sharpest increase has been recorded in the north-west of England.

After requesting data from 25 councils in the region, the BBC has learned:

A Department for Education spokesman said SEND children and young people had been “for too long let down”, adding the government was “ready to speak to any council that is experiencing financial difficulties”.