The government last month gave an extra £80m to councils to help fund the transfer of children on statements of special educational needs (SEN) to new education, health and care (EHC) plans over the next year.
Introduced in September 2014, the Department for Education claims EHC plans are a "simpler and more joined-up" system.
But research commissioned by the department and published in July 2015 found little evidence that the reforms implemented through the Children and Families Act had led to major improvements in children's health or quality of life.
Soon afterwards, the government announced a package of measures to help with the transfer process, and this latest funding includes £35.8m in 2016/17 to assist councils in implementing EHC plans - £4m more than the amount allocated for 2015/16.
The DfE says that the additional money was always planned, but some in the sector believe the funding is recognition by the government that authorities are struggling to transfer SEN statements to EHC plans in time for the 2018 deadline.
Implementing the reforms
"This is recognition that the government underestimated the difficulty councils would face implementing the reforms, particularly in a time that local budgets are strained," says Catriona Moore, education policy officer at the National Autistic Society. "We've heard from parents that there are still long waits. It would have been better if funding was frontloaded,"
Diane Kay, a member of the Educational Rights Alliance, says extra funding alone will not solve the issues facing councils. She says EHC plans have added additional complexity to support arrangements for children with SEN making it "more difficult for councils to grasp than it was before the Children and Families Act".
"The government needs to understand why the reforms haven't been implemented properly by councils - more money is simply not the answer," she adds.
Funding could be better spent providing services such as speech and language therapists or educational psychologists to children with SEN, says Kay.
"Instead of giving councils more money, the government should take it from councils who don't comply with the law," she adds. "Sanctions need to be introduced to penalise those who don't meet deadlines, and who produce unlawful EHC plans.
"We might see some positive changes if that were to happen, which would mean the government funding could be spent on real-time provision for children and young people."
Additional funding
The extra funding also includes £27.3m for the Family Fund Trust to support low-income families with grants to make specific purchase and respite breaks; £15m to fund the Independent Supporters programme, run by the Council for Disabled Children to support families through the process; and £2.3m on Parent Carer Forums.
But Wright agrees that the problems are not just limited to lack of money.
"There's a risk in many areas that children's health and care needs are not well reflected in EHC assessments and plans," she says.
"Local authorities need to take the lead in ensuring that everyone works together to design individual plans that meet the full range of a child's needs and help them achieve the best outcomes possible."
Kate Fitch, deputy head of public policy at the charity Sense, is concerned councils will struggle to meet the 2018 deadline.
She says: "The funding for independent supporters had originally only been for two years, so we are pleased to see it has been extended. We are concerned that the timescales for getting EHC plans are not being met in many cases due to the pressures local authorities are under to implement the reforms."
Tower Hamlets support service eases transition to new system
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Parent's Advice Centre has been running a programme to recruit volunteers to become independent supporters to help children and families through the process of getting an EHC plan. So far, more than 70 people have taken part in the 12-week course.
Centre manager Jenny Miller says the volunteers go on to work directly with the young people and their families, mostly for the centre's drop-in service.
"We've had 1,500 contacts with parents in one year. Some can be simple, where they drop in and want some information and we talk to them for half an hour, others might be more in-depth.
"Some of the cases we have are about concerns the child isn't doing well at school and that the school is not taking it seriously."
She adds: "Our main task is getting schools and parents to communicate effectively with each other, which could involve issues such as bullying, exclusions, admissions and finding placements."
Miller says the centre was well prepared for the introduction of EHC plans and had plenty of training. However, she says it is an ambitious system and one that will take longer to implement than people have realised.
"More conversations need to be had, and more consultation. It's been challenging for people all round," she adds.
However, the independent nature of the service has helped the transfer process go relatively smoothly in Tower Hamlets, with few disputes arising between parents and the council.
She says: "We have a low rate of parents going to tribunal in the borough. Part of that is having a service where people can negotiate with parents to ensure they're happy with their plan. It's an informal mediation - we're not on anyone's side.
"It's about empowerment - giving parents the tools to work with schools and deal with issues themselves."
