Eight years on from the 2014 reforms, heralded to ameliorate the inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools and reduce the number who required statutory assessment, the evidence would suggest otherwise. Department for Education figures, based on the January local authority census, shows the number of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) has increased by 9.9 per cent, the largest annual increase since the reforms were introduced.
There are several reasons for this. One is that parents and education settings have become much better at identifying needs, through increased continuing professional development and awareness. Early intervention, defined as providing support to children and young people at risk of poor outcomes at the earliest opportunity, can improve life chances and offer a more holistic and long-term transformation. Accessing specialist support is costly however and some local authorities lack the specialist services that schools are requiring.
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