Summit over crisis in special needs
EDUCATION: Crisis talks are to be held by education leaders today over funding for children with special educational needs (SEN), after warnings that the country’s most vulnerable are taking a hit when it comes to school support.
CRISIS TALKS are to be held by education leaders today over funding for children with special educational needs (SEN), after warnings that the country’s most vulnerable are taking a hit when it comes to school support.
Campaigners nationwide are to attend the summit by school leaders’ union NAHT, alongside headteachers, parents and governors, after the union found that 94 per cent of schools are finding it harder to resource the support they need. It comes just days after an unprecedented call for action from a coalition of education authorities across Yorkshire, warning “the system will buckle” as they face a collective overspend of nearly £43m for the region this year alone.
The picture for children and young people with additional needs is a bleak one, said NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman. “Not only are school budgets at breaking point, there have been severe cuts to local authority health and social care provision,” he added. “Schools are left struggling to meet the needs of our most vulnerable pupils.”
Last week, education authorities across Yorkshire warned that finances are straining under “unprecedented and increasing demand”, with rising numbers of children and young people supported through Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
Leader of North Yorkshire County Council Carl Les told
The Yorkshire Post that spending in this area will become “totally unsustainable” unless there is agreement to fully fund it adequately.
And the challenge, raised in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, is impacting on children across the region, politicians have warned.
Parents are in despair, Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle Emma Hardy said this week, with many spending thousands to secure the resources they need. And Tory peer Margaret Eaton, a former leader of Bradford Council, called for additional support.
“Councils are doing all they can to make sure that this support is available,” she said in a Lords debate.
“However, we are reaching a point where the money is simply not keeping up with demand and schools are getting into financial difficulties because of increasing demands.”
Now, following the NAHT’s Empty Promises survey which found nearly three-quarters of school leaders felt less able to support children with SEN than they were two years ago, today’s summit looks to examine what can be done to ease the pressure. Among those attending is television broadcaster Carrie Grant, a parent of children with SEN.
“For years now policies and funding have seen school staff and parents going head to head,” she said. “It’s time to turn our attention further up the food chain and get the policies and funding that will support schools, putting the lifeblood back into the teaching staff and allowing pupils to flourish, whoever they are, whatever their gift or challenge.”
Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Our ambition is for children with special educational needs and disabilities to enjoy school and achieve as highly as possible. This is why we are investing almost £6bn into provision for those with more complex needs in 2018-19 – the highest on record.
“The vast majority of the schools funding that local authorities receive must – and does – go directly to schools. We are also continuing to review the overall amount of funding for children and young people with complex SEN.”
Schools are left struggling to meet the needs of our most vulnerable. Paul Whiteman, National Association of Head Teachers.