More funding needed for increase in SEND support plans

Councils need more funding and resources to deal with the increase in Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for children and young people with SEND, the Local Government Association have said.

LGA figures have revealed that 48,900 children and young people, aged 0-25 in England received new Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans in 2018, which detail the support a person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is entitled to.

This amounts to 134 children and young people with SEND starting support plans each day.

The Local Government Association have called on the government to properly fund this in the upcoming Spending Review.

Councils have seen rapid rises in demand for support following changes to legislation in 2014 which extended eligibility for support to the 16 to 25 age group.

In the five year period since, councils have overseen an increase of nearly 50 per cent in children and young people with EHC plans, or in their previous form, SEN statements, from 237,100 in 2014 to 354,000 in 2019.

The rise in demand and lack of resources have also seen a lower proportion of EHC plans completed on time. Sixty per cent of plans issued within the 20 week limit in 2018, down from 65 per cent the previous year.

Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, said: "Preparing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for children with SEND is a complex and lengthy process, and one that local authorities take extremely seriously and seek to get right.

“While councils endeavour to make sure the increasing numbers of EHC plans are completed on time, this cannot be at the expense of working alongside families and teachers to make sure all children who need support have the most appropriate plans in place.

“Parents rightly expect and aspire to see that their child has the best possible education and support, and councils have done all they can to achieve this. However funding has not kept up with demand, pushing support for children with SEND to a tipping point.”