Commenting on newly released data by government showing a continued and increasing shortfall in SEND funding, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The latest SEND data show a further increase in education, health and care plans to 5.3 per cent which is over 482,640 students. Nearly one in five students are now identified as having SEND. The growth in EHCP numbers leaves a multi-billion pound funding shortfall in the High Needs Block. Worryingly the upward trend for students with an EHCP qualifying for free school meals continues, with those students still being almost twice as likely than those without an EHCP to be disadvantaged.
“Schools have, for far too long, been trying to paper over the cracks left by the shortfall in SEND funding and covering for SEND, speech and language and mental health specialists as well. Systemic and cultural change and investment to make mainstream schools more inclusive through the forthcoming White Paper, the review of the curriculum and assessment and reform of Ofsted, is urgently needed to turn around the SEND crisis and give SEND students the access and experiences they need.”