SEND system in ‘desperate need of reform’: hundreds of young people a day approached their council for support last year
More than 400 young people each day approached their council for special needs support last year, as new figures show record-breaking demand for those services and highlight a system in ‘desperate need of reform.’
Data released today from the Department of Education shows that the number of pupils this year in receipt of an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a legal document outlining special needs support, has now reached over 638,000 young people. Across England, the number of young people in receipt of an EHCP has more than trebled since 2017.
The data shows that more and more families or guardians are approaching their local authority for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support for young people: there were 423 requests on average a day last year and a total of 154,000 requests. In addition, 268 young people a day begun an EHCP across England in 2024 – a total of 98,000 new plans that were begun.
County and unitary councils in the County Councils Network (CCN) currently have 286,000 young people on EHCPs within their areas. This is almost quadruple the number of people on EHCPs in county areas in 2017.
If a child receives an EHCP, the school is only required pay the first £6,000 in support with the local authority financing the rest – often tens of thousands of pounds. With local authorities facing dramatic yearly increases in demand, the CCN says that the system does ‘not work for anyone’ with families facing long waits for support and councils building up unmanageable deficits. On current projections, these are set to reach £6bn nationally next March.
The government has committed to reforming the SEND system and will set out details in a Schools White Paper in the Autumn. County leaders say that today’s figures illustrate a system in crisis, so “government can ill-afford to get reform wrong”.
Councils say the government must be open to all options when it outlines reform and must create a system which incentivises and allows mainstream schools to better support SEND pupils, reducing the number of pupils who go to special schools. These are often located far away from a child’s home and are expensive for the local authority.
The government’s reforms package should include designing an inclusive system which would require significant investment and incorporates changes to school buildings, the curriculum and the workforce. Support in schools should also be more clearly defined, and more accessible, reducing the reliance on EHCPs.
The government announced last week that it was extending the ‘statutory override’ mechanism which keeps councils’ SEND deficits off their budget books for a further two years to March 2028, alongside a commitment to support councils with those debts.
The CCN argues that to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and give councils the best possible chance of delivering reform, government should write off SEND deficits, alongside compensating the local authorities that went through the Safety Valve programme.
Cllr Tim Oliver, Chair of the County Councils Network, said:
“Today’s new SEND figures once again demonstrate a system in desperate need of reform. It does not work for anyone: families are facing increasing waits for support, schools do not have the capacity and resources whilst councils are building up unmanageable deficits, having spent colossal sums on support over the last decade.
“Despite this record expenditure – which importantly is being artificially kept off local authority balance sheets – we recognise that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the system. Councils are facing a deluge of requests for support, so whilst the commitment to reform is important, government can ill-afford to get it wrong.
“This is why ministers must ensure that reform is comprehensive. It will require significant investment, but reform should enable greater inclusion within mainstream schools, with support more clearly defined. What we are advocating for is not a reduction in entitlement, but instead a system where all children’s needs are supported as close to their home as possible, and those with specific needs supported via specialist help.”
Notes to editor
- The latest figures on Education, Health and Care Plans from the Department of Education can be found here. The data on the total number of EHCPs covers the period to January 2025 and the data on requests and new EHCPs begun in the year covers the year 2024.
- The government’s Safety Valve programme provided bespoke funding to 38 local authorities covering the period 2020 to 2024 to help them with their SEND costs. In return, councils had to demonstrate they were making changes to their services to curtail costs. More information is available here.
