Further delay sparks fears over much-anticipated SEND Review

Delays to the government’s review of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) could lead to a “watered down” final publication, leaving the sector in limbo, experts argue.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson launched the review in September 2019, promising recommendations would be published the following autumn. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic struck the deadline was extended to “spring 2021” and later pushed back to June.

As the second and third deadlines came and went, children’s minister Vicky Ford told the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) annual conference in July that the review was “months away” from publication, indicating it had been put on hold until after the summer recess.

The delays have raised concerns among SEND campaigners and some experts due to the negative impact it could have on the sector, with some worried it may never see the light of day.

Watered-down review

Adam Boddison, chief executive of Nasen (the National Association for Special Educational Needs), is one of those worried that the review will be “watered down or, worst case scenario, it won’t happen at all”.

“It certainly feels like kicking the can down the road,” says Boddison, who will step down from the role in September.

“We need to do this sooner rather than later. It’s already been elongated, and we can’t afford any more delays.

“Part of the issue is that SEND support is such a divisive topic that the review is never going to please everyone – there are going to be some people calling for more focus on parental support, others calling for greater inclusion in schools. It needs to move forward with the knowledge that there are going to be people put out by it but if nothing happens, nothing is going to change.”

Charlotte Ramsden, ADCS president and director of children’s services at Salford City Council, echoes concerns over the impact of delays on the review and the influence it has.

In her opening speech at the association’s annual conference, she raised concerns that it was “losing its mojo”.

Ramsden accepts the delay due to the pandemic is “inevitable”.

“It will certainly be autumn before there’s any announcement about a green paper,” she adds.

However, Leo Jones, director of public services consultancy Impower where he has led on SEND issues, argues that the delay in publication may avoid the review being sub-standard.

“The extra time could enable more substantive engagement with the wider sector on how initial thinking from the review can be used as the basis for a constructive set of proposals,” he says.

Dame Christine Lenehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children, shares this view, noting that the sector “would rather wait a bit longer to get an outcome which delivers the progress we all want to see”.

“The sector remains frustrated by the repeated delays in the review,” explains Lenehan, but adds that “all of the sector, from parents and young people through to the statutory agencies which support them, want to see a system that delivers better outcomes and sustainability but the solutions are not straightforward”.

Jones says that while the sector is waiting on the publication of the review, it “should focus on what it can currently change and influence”.

“Our work with authorities around the country has shown that there are changes that can be made now to help re-balance local SEND/high needs systems. A fundamental part of this is changing the idea and culture that ‘the only way to get support for a child with SEND is through an education, health and care plan (EHCP)’,” he says.

A changing landscape

The review’s ability to keep up with numerous changes and proposals that have affected both the education and children’s social care systems during the long delay is raised as a concern by Ramsden, noting issues including the launch of the Care Review, Williamson’s push for all schools to become academies, and the development of Integrated Care Services (ICSs) across the health system. Another complicating factor is Williamson’s proposed crackdown on classroom behaviour (see box).

Jones adds that there has been insufficient focus on children in the ICS reforms to date, and that the latest delay could help address this.

“It is important that children’s health and development, including for those children with additional needs, is a central priority for new ICSs,” he says.

This was echoed by Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary at the Department for Education, who told MPs in July that prior to the third deadline of 30 June, the review was “making good progress with developing proposals”.

She also dismissed claims that the review had “dropped down the department’s list of priorities” during the pandemic. Acland-Hood said: “We had a set of emerging conclusions, we were talking to people about them, but everything we were hearing, and all of the conversations we were having, said ‘we think it would be better to just spend a bit longer and make sure that the conclusions and propositions are really robust against how the world is changing as a result of the pandemic’.”

Pandemic Impact

Lenehan adds that the pandemic has exaggerated both the good and bad in the system so the review must consider the current and future context as well as the past challenges.

“Crucially, we need a set of recommendations that are implementable and lead to real, sustainable change for children and families. This will require needs being identified and met early through high-quality provision delivered locally by properly integrated services,” she says.

“If the government values better outcomes for all children and young people with SEND, and recognises their contribution to society, the review could be a chance to make real progress.”

Boddison shares this view, arguing that issues including home working for children with SEND must now be factored into the review “whereas this wouldn’t have even been discussed as an option” prior to the pandemic.

“It has highlighted some really great work but that does need to be factored in now,” he says, adding that “a real challenge” is going to be including children with SEN support but without an EHCP.

“The danger is that these children won’t be given enough focus but may be the ones who have fallen further behind during the pandemic,” he adds.

Latest government figures show that on 31 March 2021, the number of children with an EHCP was 325,618, up from 294,758 in March 2020, before the start of the pandemic. This is the highest level since EHCPs replaced statements of special educational needs in 2015/16.

In addition, the number of children assessed as needing SEN support has increased from 1,079,000 in 2019/20 to 1,083,083 in 2020/21.

The review must factor in both this increase and a divide in the quality of support offered to children throughout the pandemic depending on their location, Lenehan explains.

“Where relationships are poor, or non-existent, the opposite is true: a lack of co-ordination, support and of humanity,” she says. “Unfortunately, there are children with SEND who had barely any formal education during lockdown and there were families providing round-the-clock support at home to children with complex conditions that were effectively incarcerated by social restrictions.

“The SEND review is a chance to understand why this has happened, make sure the good work being done is replicated in those areas that are struggling, and that support is provided to turn around the situation of those who have suffered most.”

In July, the government announced £20m to support “high needs” projects delivered by local authorities, however, practitioners and parents describe this as a “sticking plaster” in the absence of the review.

As the debate continues over whether the delays are worth the wait, Boddison argues, “we need something now – the more the review gets left behind, the more children get left behind”.

Ramsden agrees urgent action is needed: “If this isn’t the year to prioritise children and young people, then when is?”

BEHAVIOUR CONSULTATION RAISES CONCERNS FOR SEND PUPILS

Responses to the Department for Education’s consultation on proposals to crackdown on behaviour in schools has raised concerns over the impact of such plans on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The consultation, launched by Gavin Williamson in June, closed on 10 August and sought views on issues including the use of so-called “removal rooms”, plans to create “calm classrooms” and the banning of mobile phones in schools.

The six-week consultation drew warnings over a lack of inclusion for children with SEND.

Teachers’ union The NASWUT says in its response that it “would not support nor advocate the use of removal rooms as a long-term solution for any pupil displaying poor behaviour, including those with additional learning needs”.

In a response on behalf of the Association of School and College Leaders, SEND and inclusion specialist Margaret Mulholland writes: “The use of ‘removal’, isolation or seclusion rooms can be particularly inappropriate for children with SEND.”

Both unions also criticise plans for a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools, claiming they are often used by pupils with SEND as a learning aid.

SEND NEEDS

• 1.08m children assessed as needing SEND support
• 325,618 children on education, health and care plans
• 2.54% rise in children with SEND needs in past year

Source: SEND data @ 31/3/21, DfE