Today's report from the National Audit Office concludes that England's SEND system is failing children and young people, is financially unsustainable and in urgent need of reform.
Today's report from the National Audit Office (NAO) on England's special educational needs (SEN) system provides further grim reading for those of us working to improve support for disabled children and young people and children and young people with SEN. However, we hope that the analysis will encourage the government to make the bold changes that are needed.
We need a system where schools are celebrated for positively including disabled children and children with SEN and are funded appropriately to do so. Opting out of these responsibilities cannot be an option. It is untenable that 88% of schools are judged to be good or outstanding, yet more than half (55%) of parents of pupils with SEN have concerns about the quality of education or SEN support their child receives.
We need schools to be part of a more integrated system within which there is a shared understanding of how identifying and supporting special educational needs and disabilities should be prioritised. For this to happen, we need the Department of Health and Social Care to place prioritising children at the core of the government's ten-year health plan.
You can read the NAO report here.