By Catarina Demony and Alistair Smout
LONDON, – Britain will unveil long-delayed reforms to England’s special educational needs and disabilities system on Monday, as rising demand and sharply escalating costs push it towards a financial breaking point.
The Labour government is under pressure to fix a system which its budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has warned will leave it footing a 6 billion pound bill by the end of the decade.
This month, ministers wrote off 90% of councils’ historic SEND-related deficits after eight in 10 local authorities warned they risked becoming insolvent under mounting costs.
The Department for Education said its 4 billion-pound package over the next three years is designed to ease those pressures by improving early intervention and making mainstream schools more inclusive.
But campaigners say reforms designed to curb high spending could result in less effective provision for students with special needs.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson told the BBC on Sunday the government is committed to improving outcomes for children but will take action where funds are not being well spent.
Under current rules, many families rely on a statutory Education, Health and Care Plan – the only guaranteed route to the support they need. Limited help for those without an EHCP has pushed more parents to seek one, driving up funding demands and fuelling bureaucracy, including tribunal battles.
The new plans include 1.8 billion pounds to create a national pool of specialists – such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists – that schools can draw on regardless of whether a child has an EHCP.
The government has said it will assume the full cost of SEND provision from 2028.
Advocates warn that any new restrictions on EHCPs could see many children lose the support they need. Phillipson said the reforms were not intended to remove “effective support” from children but needs would be reviewed.
Madeleine Cassidy, CEO of SEND law charity IPSEA, said the policy document, known as a white paper, must clarify how public bodies will be held accountable for failures, and how parents’ rights to challenge decisions will be protected.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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