A report out today from the House of Commons Education Committee on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities have said that Government reforms in 2014 resulted in confusion and at times unlawful practice, bureaucratic nightmares, buck-passing and a lack of accountability, strained resources and adversarial experiences
The reforms under the 2014 Act were ambitious, said the Committee, but that ambition remains to be realised.
Instead they say, they have been let down by failures of implementation, hampered by poor administration and a challenging funding environment in which local authorities and schools have lacked the ability to make transformative change.
The Government has recently taken initial steps to rectify the latter of these two challenges, but there is much left to be done.
There is too much of a tension between the child’s needs and the provision available says MP’s.
The significant funding shortfall is a serious contributory factor to the failure on the part of all involved to deliver on the SEND reforms and meet children’s needs.
“Ultimately, however, unless we see a culture change, within schools and local authorities and the Government, any additional money will be wasted and make little difference to their lives.”
The report found a general lack of accountability within the system.
“We do not think that the current approach to accountability is sufficient—the absence of a rigorous inspection regime at the beginning set the tone of a hands-off approach. This has been perpetuated by the fact that those required, or enabled, to ‘police’ the system have been limited in part by an apparent unwillingness to grapple with unlawful practice, while others are limited by the narrowness of their remit.”
Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Committee, said:
“Despite the good intentions of the reforms, many children with special educational needs and disabilities are being let down day after day. Many parents face a titanic struggle just to try and ensure their child gets access to the right support.
Families are often forced to wade through a treacle of bureaucracy, in a system which breeds conflict and despair as parents try to navigate a postcode lottery of provision. A lack of accountability plagues the system as local authorities, social care and health providers too frequently seek to pass the buck rather than take responsibility for providing support.
Children and parents should not have to struggle in this way – they should be supported. There needs to be a radical change to inspection, support for parents, and clear consequences for failure to ensure the 2014 Act delivers as the Government intended.”
The report recommends a series of measures to strengthen inspections, support parents going through the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process and ensure those responsible for SEND provision are held accountable when things go wrong.
The Committee made several key recommendations including a more rigorous inspection framework for local authorities, with clear consequences for failure.
There should be a greater focus on SEND in school inspections.
A direct line for parents and schools to appeal directly to the Department for Education where local authorities appear not to be complying with the law.
Powers for the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate complaints about schools and the development of more employment and training opportunities for post-16 young people
Robert Halfon added:
“We need to end this major social injustice, one which affects children and their families, particularly those who are not as well equipped to navigate this bureaucratic maze.
Of course, extra funding for SEND announced in the spending round is welcome but the truth is that more cash will fail to make a difference to children with special education needs unless there is a radical change of approach throughout the system.
The DfE cannot continue with a piecemeal and reactive approach to supporting children with SEND. Rather than making do with sticking plasters, what is needed is a transformation, a more strategic oversight and fundamental change to ensure a generation of children is no longer let down.”
