Special Educational Needs Support for Children Reaches Record Levels in England
New figures published by the Department for Education confirm a significant rise in the number of children and young people receiving special educational needs (SEN) support across England. As of January 2024, over 1.8 million pupils, representing 20.3% of the total school population, required some form of SEN provision.
This marks a record increase in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which are legally binding documents outlining the support an individual aged 25 or under should receive. The data shows a 10.9% rise in EHCPs compared to the previous year, equating to 57,500 additional plans. This is the largest annual increase since EHCPs were introduced a decade ago, bringing the total number of children and young people with these plans to 575,000.
Local authorities are statutorily obligated to process new EHCP requests within 20 weeks. However, the data indicates that only 49.2% of new EHCPs were issued within this timeframe in 2023, a decline from 50.7% in 2022. This failure to meet legal deadlines underscores persistent systemic challenges within the SEN provision framework.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has noted the rising demand and costs associated with SEN provision, stating that councils are struggling to fulfil their statutory duties. The LGA highlighted that council spending on high needs support for children with EHCPs has increased by 54% over the past five years, now exceeding £10 billion annually.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review, initiated by the government to address these issues, aims to improve the system. However, the sustained increase in demand and the inability of local authorities to meet statutory timelines suggest that underlying structural problems persist, requiring more than incremental policy adjustments.
