Under the "simpler and more joined-up" system introduced last September, statements of SEN have been replaced with education, health and care (EHC) plans, which co-ordinate support for all children and young people aged up to 25.
But a study by the National Autistic Society (NAS) found that just 23 per cent of those who’ve been through the new system are satisfied, with almost half (48 per cent) saying they are dissatisfied.
“Parents have told us about long waits for assessment and plans, extending beyond statutory time limits and local authority staff who do not understand either the new system or their child," the NAS's School Report 2015 stated.
“Local authorities are struggling to process reviews of young people on statements (initially those leaving school) and new applications in a timely way, which may continue as statements are reviewed until 2018.”
“The new system does not appear to have solved some of the longstanding problems parents face. They continue to report feelings of not being listened to and support being withheld due to local authorities’ budgetary constraints.”
The survey did find, however that once parents got an EHC plan, they were generally satisfied with it.
The findings come from a survey of 1,431 parents and carers of children and young people with autism, 512 of whom were affected by the new system.
The report comes less than two months after research commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) found that SEN reforms have so far had little impact on children’s quality of life.
The final evaluation report on the SEND pathfinder programme, which has been trialling new approaches to deliver EHC plans across 31 local authority areas since 2011, found that there was “no statistical evidence” that the changes had an impact on the health and quality of life of young people.
NAS is calling on the government to review local authorities’ implementation of the SEN reforms.
Mark Lever, chief executive of NAS, said the new system “isn’t yet delivering the high-quality education that every child deserves”.
“Far too many parents are still having to fight tooth and nail for the right support for their children, often facing long and incredibly stressful delays.
“If the government is serious about its commitment to halving the disability employment gap it needs to start in schools.
“We want the government to conduct a systematic review of local authorities’ implementation of the new system and to take any necessary action to make sure families are listened to and children receive support within a reasonable time.”
Meanwhile Contact a Family, a national charity that supports families with disabled children, said it has seen calls to its SEN helpline quadruple in the year since the government introduced the changes.
Jill Davies, Contact a Family’s education adviser said: “Since the SEN reforms were introduced last September, we continue to speak to many families who are still wrestling with the practicalities of transferring statements to ECH plans.
"In addition, some local authorities report that they are overwhelmed with the volume of children they have to transfer from statements to ECH plans and this has resulted in errors, delays and inevitably parents’ frustration.
“The changes are being implemented at a time of huge uncertainty over long-term funding to support the reforms. This, coupled with cuts to local budgets such as social care, could affect confidence and momentum.”
A DfE spokesman said: “We have introduced the biggest reforms to the SEND system in a generation to ensure that support is focused on needs and aspirations, enabling all young people, including those with autism, to achieve better outcomes in education and adult life.
“This report shows that, once implemented, our reforms are making life better for families of children with autism, with those who have a new EHC plan significantly more satisfied than those without.
We have given £70m to councils in 2014/15 to help them plan and implement our reforms, as well as giving £77m between 2014 and 2016 to pay for the additional starting costs they may incur – but we will continue to support councils as they successfully implement our reforms.”
