Funding cuts hit school SEN provision

The vast majority of the 1,100 primary and secondary school leaders surveyed by education support firm The Key said reductions in overall funding for SEN provision given to councils was having a “detrimental” effect on the support they provide for vulnerable pupils.

The research found eight out of 10 primary school leaders reported having insufficient funding to adequately provide services, while eight out of 10 secondary school leaders reported cuts to services due to a fall in local authority funding.

Fergal Roche, chief executive of The Key, said the findings are a “wake-up call” for government.

“Schools need adequate funding and a holistic, well co-ordinated and resourced system of support behind them to provide effectively for children with SEN and disabilities (SEND),” he said.

Reforms to how support is provided for children with SEN were introduced in autumn 2014.

However, figures recently released by the Department for Education found that only one in five children have been transferred from the old support system onto an education, health and care plans.

Kate Fitch, head of public policy at Sense, said the findings could undermine government reforms aimed at providing a more integrated system of health, education and social care for children with SEND. 

"We are concerned to hear that an insufficient level of funding in the system is having a detrimental impact on schools' abilities to provide appropriate support to children with additional needs," she said.

"It is vital that the government heed the warnings in this report and provide sufficient investment to ensure the SEND reforms are successful, and to ensure that children with additional needs receive support which is vital to their education and development.”

Carmel McDermott, SEN helpline advisor at Contact a Family, said that there needs to be more focus on how children with SEN are supported in schools.

"Around a third of calls to our SEN helpline are about lack of support for children with SEND in mainstreams school. Many parents are concerned that the support their child receives at school is inconsistent, unsuitable or non-existent," she said.

"They are frequently told that this is due to lack of funding. Parents we speak to are also routinely told that they will have to wait for professionals such as educational psychologists or speech and language therapists to carry out assessments and observations at school until funding is available.
 
“We have always known that local authority budget cuts and funding cuts to vital local services has the potential to threaten the success of new SEN system, so it’s worrying to learn that school leaders believe this is indeed hampering their ability to support children with SEN in their schools and the impact that this may have on children and the families we support," McDermott said.

The survey also found that almost nine in 10 school leaders think initial teacher training does not adequately prepare teachers to support pupils with SEND.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan announced last week, however, that supporting children with autism would be included in initial teacher training.