MPs find SEND reforms led to ‘unlawful practice’

A generation of young people is being let down by failures in the implementation of reforms to special educational needs and disabilities support, with a significant funding shortfall creating a tension between children’s needs and the provision available, a cross party committee of MPs has found.

A report published today by the education select committee said changes brought in under the Children and Families Act 2014 have resulted in “confusion and at times unlawful practice, bureaucratic nightmares, buck-passing and a lack of accountability, strained resources and adversarial experiences, and ultimately dashed the hopes of many”.

“The department did not need to preside serenely over chaos for five years to see that things were not quite going as planned."

“Parents and carers have to wade through a treacle of bureaucracy, full of conflict, missed appointments and despair,” it added.

The committee concluded that there was general agreement that the reforms, which included the introduction of education and health care plans (EHCPs) for young people up to the age of 25 in an attempt to create a coordinated approach by councils and schools, were the right ones.

However, it found implementation was “badly hampered by poor administration and a challenging funding environment in which local authorities and schools… lacked the ability to make transformative change”.

The committee said the significant funding shortfall was a “serious contributory factor” in the failings of all organisations involved in delivering the reforms, but added without a culture change in councils, schools and the government, any extra funding would be wasted.

The report found many councils are struggling with the reforms which has led to "unlawful practices" in some cases.

It said the deadline of 1 April 2018 for all children to be transferred to EHCPs led to some being neglected due to an “intense focus” on the process at the expense of providing support and early intervention.

This then led to an increase in parents applying for EHCPs as this was perceived to be the only way to access support, placing further strain on the system.

“This has led to practices of rationing, gatekeeping and, fundamentally, children and young people’s needs being unidentified and unmet,” it added. “Much of this is unlawful, goes wholly against the intentions of the act and contributes to a lack of faith in the system.”

The committee called for a more rigorous inspection framework than the current reviews carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, a greater focus on SEND in school inspections and the extension of the local government and social care ombudsman jurisdiction to provide a single point of contact for parents' complaints.

The report said: “The department did not need to preside serenely over chaos for five years to see that things were not quite going as planned."

The committee acknowledged councils were “struggling against the tide of unintended consequences of policy decisions”, with current restrictions on their ability to create new specialist settings for children with SEND hampering the quality of support and leading to increased spending on independent sector provision at significant cost to the taxpayer.

“There should be a level playing field for local authorities,” it added.

In August this year the Department for Education announced the inclusion of an extra £700m for the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant up to 2022-23.

But committee chair Robert Halfon (Con) accused DfE of a “a piecemeal and reactive approach”.

He added: "Of course, extra funding for SEND announced in the spending round is welcome but the truth is that more cash will fail to make a difference to children with special education needs unless there is a radical change of approach throughout the system.”

A DfE spokesperson said it has boosted high needs budgets by 12% and said its recently announced review of the the reforms would focus on making sure there is consistent support across the country.

“No child should be held back from reaching their potential, including those with special educational needs," they added.