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The crisis in special needs education appears to be worsening, with nine out of 10 school leaders finding it harder to meet pupils’ needs than they did a year ago, according to a survey.
Almost all (98%) of the respondents to a National Association of Head Teachers’ (NAHT) poll covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland said they did not have the resources to meet the needs of all their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).
One school leader who took part in the research described levels of Send funding as “diabolical”, while another said demand was continuing to mount, with Send pupil numbers doubling in nursery and reception in the last three years.
Four in five (82%) mainstream school leaders said they were struggling to support pupils who needed specialist provision that had been agreed in their education, health and care plan (EHCP) but was not available.
The NAHT general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said pupils’ needs were becoming more complex. “Right now, too many schools have children who should be getting specialist support who are being let down by the lack of capacity and availability of places in the specialist sector.
“Schools are desperately trying to do their best for those pupils, but without access to the specialist help they need, their hands are tied. We also know that many special schools are struggling to meet the demand on them for places and are massively oversubscribed.”
The government is due to publish its plans to transform the Send system in Englandin a white paper, which is expected to prioritise inclusion and better support in mainstream state schools, with the aim of cutting council spending on costly private provision.
Guardian analysis earlier this year revealed that many English councils had built up debts running into hundreds of millions of pounds as a result of Send spending on independent special schools, pushing the councils to the brink of bankruptcy.
Whiteman said: “We are not opposed to the government wanting mainstream schools to be inclusive, and school leaders take this duty really seriously, but they need more funding, resources and specialist staffing to be able to support their students appropriately and effectively.
“And this doesn’t remove the fact that there will also always be a need for special school places for pupils with the greatest needs. Capacity in both mainstream and specialist schools must match need.”
Delegates to the NAHT’s annual general conference in Harrogate this weekend will vote on a number of motions calling for more funding, training and support for educating Send pupils. “There is no higher priority now in education than fixing the Send crisis,” Whiteman said.
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The poll drew almost 900 responses from school leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in both mainstream and specialist schools, and included anonymous contributions that revealed the daily struggle faced by schools.
“We are in a deficit budget position,” one said. “We are supporting children with significant needs and don’t receive the funding we need … It is having a detrimental impact on the education of others in school.”
Another said: “We are at crisis point with the level of need and what we can actually offer the children. Staff morale is low and staff are leaving the profession.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said the government had inherited a Send system on its knees and had already invested an additional £1.7bn to improve provision.
They added: “It will take time, but as part of our plan for change, we are thinking differently about what the Send system should look like, to restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.”
