23 December 2024

Last week, MPs on the House of Commons Education Select Committee announced a “major inquiry” into support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

This comes ten years after the SEND reforms introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 and five years after the last major parliamentary inquiry into support for children and young people with SEND, which led to the previous government’s SEND Review. There have of course been many other investigations into how the SEND system works by the National Audit Office, Ofsted and others. There’s no shortage of information available.

While IPSEA welcomes this inquiry as an opportunity to shine a spotlight – again – on the ongoing SEND crisis, we are firmly opposed to any "solutions” that would mean changing the law on children and young people’s rights to special educational provision that meets their individual needs.

The current SEND legal framework is robust and provides strong and clear rights for children and young people with SEND. The issues we face today stem not from the legislation itself but from its inconsistent and often unlawful application by local authorities. These problems are exacerbated by severe underfunding and a lack of coordination between education, health and social care services.

These failures are evidenced by the unprecedented number of appeals to the SEND Tribunal, the number of local area SEND inspections where significant concerns are identified, and the high proportion of SEND-related complaints that are upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Our commitment and next steps

There is no evidence that the 2014 SEND reforms were not the right ones for children and young people with SEND who depend on additional support to enable them to achieve their potential. At IPSEA we remain committed to ensuring the legal framework is applied and children and young people receive the support they need.

We will be submitting written evidence to the Education Select Committee in the new year focusing on:

• How the SEND legal framework is being implemented
• How local authorities are fulfilling their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND
• How mainstream schools can be made more inclusive for everyone
• How the SEND system can be made more accountable

We strongly encourage families and professionals working with children and young people with SEND to send in their own submission to MPs on the committee. Our friends at Special Needs Jungle have created a helpful template to assist parents and carers in crafting their own responses. IPSEA will also provide further resources and guidance early next year. 

IPSEA’s Policy Manager, Catriona Moore, commented:

“IPSEA fully supports any action that will solve the SEND crisis without reducing children and young people’s right to receive the support they need. However, parents, carers, and professionals in the sector will understandably be frustrated by the prospect of yet another inquiry. The problems with the SEND system have been repeatedly identified over the last five years. What we need now is a clear focus on ensuring that local authorities comply with their legal obligations and deliver the support children and young people are entitled to by law. 

“It is hugely concerning – and baffling – that the Prime Minister is reported to be considering reforms to the SEND system that would reduce the number of children and young people who are entitled to support. This may reduce the amount of money local authorities have to spend, but will do nothing to improve children’s educational outcomes and experience.” 

You can read more details about the Education Select Committee inquiry here.