New reforms propose giving parents more responsibility for their children’s care, but there are concerns that thousands will be taken off the special needs register. Channel 4 News reports.
The shake-up of special education needs (SEN) provision is the most radical for 30 years and aims to tackle complexities in the current system which some parents say leaves them struggling to get the help they need.
Led by Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather, the reforms’ main proposals are: giving parents the legal right to a personal budget for their child’s care; introducing a system of joined up care between education, health and social care departments; and replacing SEN statements with a single plan from birth to aged 25, rather than 16.
The draft legislation is expected to be announced in the Queen’s speech and follows a public consultation on a green paper from last year.
But concerns have been raised that scrapping the current system in favour of one single category will result in many children being removed from the register and prevented from getting the help they need.
Around one in five schoolchildren – or 1.7 million – are classed as having special needs. However only a minority of this group – one in seven – has a special needs “statement” signifying more complex needs.
Personally, I would like to work in partnership with schools and services that support my children – to be part of the team. Sarah Thomas, parent
Under the proposals, those children with a statement will instead be eligible for a “local offer” of education, health and social care services in their area. But those who don’t will have to prove eligibility.
Brian Lightman, head of the union for school headteachers, ASCL, said the proposals risked leaving many children out in the cold.
“I am most worried about those children with mild learning disabilities or behavioural problems who may in future slip through the net,” he said. “Tightening the criteria for being identified as having a special need must not be a cost-cutting exercise.”
The National Autistic Society also voiced concerns over children without a statement slipping through the cracks, following its recent survey that only 65 per cent of children with autism have a statement.
Legal responsibility for parents
Sarah Thomas from Shropshire has three children, two of whom have special educational needs: her 11-year-old has a chromosome abnormality, autism and ADHD while her nine-year-old has dyspraxia and dyscalculia.
“What I’m really encouraged about is that this is an option for parents, but there still needs to be a good amount of support for those who don’t want to take that on,” she told Channel 4 News. “Personally, I would like to work in partnership with schools and services that support my children – to be part of the team.”
The proposals for interdepartmental care will also help to solve many problems. “Currently there are issues when departments aren’t joined up – it’s a complex system,” she said.
Ms Thomas is also encouraged by the focus on early intervention. “My middle son goes on regular overnight residential short breaks, which are absolutely invaluable to our family,” she said, “but it was difficult to secure that support from an early age. There is an assumption that younger children will be cared for by their families, with no acknowledgement of an additional burden.”
Ms Teather acknowledged that fewer children may not be identified as SEN, but she said that a new focus on early intervention will ensure children get appropriate help.
The proposals follow a 2010 report by the schools watchdog, Ofsted, which found that 450,000 children have been wrongly identified as SEN and are simply underachieving for a variety of other factors.
“For me this is not about numbers. It is about getting the right children identified and getting the support in place,” she told the Today programme.
“We have a number of children who are identified as having special education needs who actually may have other problems and what’s important is that we focus on the other causes and get the support they need For example, they may well be caring for a relative at home and they might not be attending school.”
The new reforms will force education, health and social care departments to work together to provide a “local offer” of joined up support.
At the moment, schools have a statutory duty to meet the needs of their SEN children, but that is not the case for health and social care, which is of concern to the charity Every Disabled Child Matters.
Campaign Manager Laura Courtney said she welcomed the “spirit and ambition” of the plans for joined up care, but that there should be a legal requirement for this kind of joint commissioning to ensure parents can hold departments accountable.
“There should be a legal requirement for joint commissioning to make these significant changes that have been talked about for generations,” she told Channel 4 News. “How are they going to do that in health services without a statutory requirement?”