Leaks in the press about reduction in send spending

[Perzival]

I haven't seen a thread on this so thought i'd start one.

Over Christmas some newspapers inc the Times and Telegraph have leaked reports that the Government intend to tackle the cost of SEND by only issuing EHCP's to those children with the most severe needs. School's (mainstream) will then be responsible for meeting the needs of those with "moderate" or "minor" (not my wording) needs. Appeals to sendist by parents will be restricted (i'm guessing to those who still have an EHCP) and schools will have to liase with the LA regarding the needs of the other children requiring support.

To avoid drip feeding, my ds has severe/complex needs and attends special school, he'll never be able to live alone....

I have really mixed feelings about this. The current system is causing some LA's to go bankrupt, schools are already massively underfunded, lack of special school places, time it takes for tribunal and don't have the specialisms required but i also see huge waste like the removal of LA owned transport in preference for taxi contracts, the cost of inde provision (not disputing need but wish there was a way for thatto be provided locally by LA's without the profit margin) and the cost to families for professional reports from inde speacialists for tribunal / section f- provision.

If this goes ahead what will happen to the kids who will be failed? What impact will it have on the kids without send in classes with more children with unmet send? If something doesn't change where will the money come from for send with some LA's already blamimg SEND for bankrupsy?

I'm not looking for a discussong rather than an argument. The SEND groups can be an echo chambre so looking for different views.

https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/leaks-denials-fake-conversations-not-inspire-parental-confidence-send/?fbclid=Iwb21leAPInu5jbGNrA8iej2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHrItacXo4jijUu3mrF_32165ExI-sVCsVWcUNjc49IsMqP3NOT7kEg3neK8j_aem_AOqVBm2C3Uk7R5u6D-3GIw

Could they possibly give a list of universal subjects that parents/ schools have to choose from?

Our LA has done lots of talk (I would say training, but it hasn't been-it's just been talk!) about 'Ordinarily Available' and saying that's when schools talk about what they are offering pupils that's 'additional to and different from' they need to think about WHAT it's 'additional to and different from'.

So, there should be a universal provision that everyone can get, then it's only the other stuff that's 'extra', ie SEN.

The problem is that this varies massively. One tiny school may have no TAs, no sensory room, no interventions and a senco out of class for for 3 hours a week. Another school may have 3 sencos, 2 senco assistants, a team of TAs, family support worker, play leaders, counsellor, 'drawing and talking' therapy, sensory room, gym trail, resource hub, high adult:child ratio phonics groups, all manner of SEND assessments and interventions running etc

What that second school will put in place before even adding a child to the SEN register is totally different to the first-they may not even consider their provision 'different from or additional to' as so many children are getting it. The first school can't just pop them in a sensory room, add to the gym trail list, get them in to the counsellor weekly etc

All schools aren't build equal (through no fault of their own) as parents who move schools quickly realise!

“I think the majority of the population simply don't want to pay the level of tax that is required to fund the kind of SEN education that many parents want.”

Right there in your post. So, again, it isn’t about ‘wants’.

Around 5% of school children have an ehcp. I would argue that this 5% actually does represent those with the highest need.

I have 2 dc that did their secondary education in a send school and a 3rd who attended a mainstream school with a specialist resourced provision. You can’t access a special school or a resourced provision without an ehcp.

I’d like to flip the question: If we fail to educate these children (which we will if we reduce spending on send) how much will it cost us in the long term. I’m sorry if people don’t want to pay taxes to educate children with send. They’ll just have to pay even more because those children will become adults without the skills to work or live independently. Some of them will leave education so traumatised by the experience they will receive a lifetime of personal independence payments. An ehcp can continue until a child is 25. The vast majority are not issued until partway through schooling so saving money for 15 years is going to cost far more over the lifetime of the adult.

I think quite a few are issued partway through school due to burnout.
My dd got one at 17

I don’t see how EOTAS/EOTIS/C can work with a predefined list. It doesn’t work now when LAs unlawfully claim they have a blanket policy of only use their ‘approved’ providers. EOTAS/EOTIS is for when needs are complex enough that it is inappropriate for provision to be made in school/college. That means generic provision isn’t suitable.

Lots of SS offer animal-assisted learning/education/therapy too. Some on-site and some off-site. Some in MS will also be receiving such provision.

All CSA DC in schools receive PE. Those with EOTAS/EOTIS are also entitled to it. If you remove the possibility for that to be provided via EOTAS/EOTIS packages, it will simply mean LAs have to provide it via s19 provision because CSA DC will still be entitled to such provision. And it has to be something suitable.

Equality and equity aren’t the same.

Your poor dd. It’s so unfair. I hope she’s doing well now

I agree and fully get this. This is why some schools get a reputation for being great for send and then get flooded while others have the reverse.

I'm sorry, i really didn't explain myself very well. What I was getting at was will there be a list of what is acceptable in section F. So eg life skills or support for maths, english and science(i'm trying to give examples for both academic and non academic settings) but a flat out refusal/ blanket ban (which is currently unlawful) on say falconry or water polo especially where those provisions aren't available in the LA to mainstream counter parts. With speech and ot being generally accepted as sec f provision will they put in limits or budget restraints or only allow therapy from a pre determined list of providers so maybe makaton instead of signalong or proloque over lamp, so the la could have set contracts and not be forced into paying for independants to be brought in.

I'm just trying to guess or throw ideas about. I do remember the list of settings being talked about as one of our local LA's trialed it- it failed as parents still went for the setting that was best for their chid. I think things may go this way to limit costs.

I'm not arguing against it. I'm just trying to think about where we may see changes from what i've read/seen.

There clearly are changes coming so the system we have now may not be the same that we end up with.

I'm curious about this too! Went through it over a decade ago and it was terrible even then with no early intervention, all the money tied up in EHCP funding and schools were underfunded. Long waits for CAMHS etc.

Just looked it up and apparently COVID led to developmental impacts that have been long lasting in a significant minority of children. The isolation also allegedly impacted on emotional regulation and there was a huge backlog for assessments.

It feels like the whole system has now ground to a complete halt.

I have a lot of family members who are teachers and tbh they already say it’s unsustainable as it is. 10/11 students out of 30 with SNs and EHCPs, children who should really be in special schools lumped into mainstream because there aren’t places. 80% of their time managing behaviour and none of the kids having their educational needs met whether SN or NT.

Interestingly when I looked at Bridget's Facebook profile earlier, which was all about the conversation around send, you couldn't comment on any of her posts. Oh the irony! As someone who hasn't written Labour off yet, but who has a child with an ehcp (mainstream), this feels very phony.

Are provisions such as falconry or waterpolo very mentioned often?

I feel like that could be a distraction from the actual issues here.

I don't think so, i think there will be thousands more with wooley salt wording that can't be enforced. I see these as examples of the expense of send. I know i was shocked when i found out how much ds' school placement costs.

So when are they taking them away?

What is the proposed date approximately?

The amount of money being made from SEND is horrifying. People can pretty much charge what they want. It can be more lucrative to work privately. This means that LAs often have to pay quite a lot of money to deliver therapies in EHCPs unless a school has these in house.

Things like horse riding, falconry etc can often be part of EOTAS provision. And like a poster earlier said are often much cheaper than other things. Some SEND schools do have animals onsite though.

I can't see LAs having enough capacity to deliver provision in house. They often have to rely on the private sector which of course builds resentment.

The system wastes a lot of money and there's been very little joined up thinking and from what I've seen very little sensible planning and certainly no contingency planning. Just firefighting. I know that some LAs did put systems in place over 2 decades ago when children couldn't manage in mainstream (I think late 90s after Ofsted was introduced). But whether these held up I don't know and I think to most LAs it's been a real shock. SEND has been too chaotic for too long and just couldn't cope with any more pressures.

Yes. This is the actual fact of the matter.

Our LA owns a farm as part of alternative provision. It’s always winning awards.

But this is a big city.

This is the actual daily fact of the matter . This is exactly what is happening EHCP's or highlighted SEN needs in one class and maybe 1 TA if lucky, not trained , not a specialist and having to meet the needs of all the students.

Thanks for clarifying. I think you're hung up on the use of the word 'want'.

Naturally all parents want as many of their children's needs met as possible. You might not like the use of the word 'want' in this perspective but it is an accurate word. Very few children have all their needs totally met by a standard state education. This is why people fork out thousands to go private or choose to home educate their children. It's not an issue unique to SEN parents. Look at schools rated inadequate by OFSTED and you will see there any many children with unmet needs. Even good or outstanding schools don't meet every child's needs when they're not SEN. I know this first hand. Children are quirky and can have strong ND traits without actually being ND or can have specific talents or weaknesses that are hard to address without spending a lot of money. Expectations management is important.

There is no 'proposed' date. We don't know anything yet-everything is based on speculation as the White paper has been delayed and has not even been released.

The amount of money being made from SEND is horrifying.

I agree with this completely. The market is flooded with advisers and specialists who are working privately. Every single EP who used to work for our LA now work privately directly for schools that buy into their service. Same for local speech therapists and OTs. Working directly within the LA/NHS was so awful, they've all gone private.

Is there any research to prove that being awarded an ECHP increases employability, independence or reduces dependence on benefits in the long term? As I mentioned upthread, I have a relative who had a very expensive education but ultimately is dependent on benefits, can't live independently and has never had meaningful employment. It simply was never on the cards for him due to his disabilities.

You can argue the ethics of how people with quite severe needs should be educated but it's hard to argue that the expensive education changed any real outcomes for him and was economically beneficial for the state in the long term.

5% of people with learning disabilities are employed. He is in the Majority not the minority.

It simply was never on the cards for him due to his disabilities.

So, what should the state do with children with such disabilities then?

That's the million dollar question isn't it? All I can tell you is that when they become adults the drop off in provision can be stalk. We experienced It first hand. It is quite frustrating because the college he attended was attempting to give him skills for jobs he could never realistically do e.g. being a waiter. I'm not aware of anyone of his contemporaries going on to become waiters and very few ultimately got paid employment. The college however led them to believe this would be possible so it's led to disappointment and frustration. My relative has subsequently volunteered in community cafes where he has been taught these skills all over again in a much cheaper and more local setting. He didn't want to continue though because he is adamant that he should be paid for this work even though he realistically could never cope with working as a waiter in a restaurant or cafe.

I’m not ‘hung up’ on anything. I am merely pointing out it is not a matter of wants. It is about SEP required to meet a child’s SEN. It is about needs.

Children are quirky and can have strong ND traits without actually being ND

School level SEN Support/being coded as K is about needs. EHCPs are also based on needs, not diagnosis. DC don’t need a diagnosis. There is more to SEN than ND. If such DC need support to meet their SEN that cannot or will not be provided via OAP, their parents can pursue an EHCP.

specific talents

This is irrelevant when discussing SEN. Case law shows exceptional ability is not considered the same. It does not have the same protection in law. Many DC with SEN also have specific talents. It isn’t an either or. Just like many DC with SEN attend inadequate rated schools.

Expectations management is important.

Parents pursuing support for their DC with SEN doesn’t mean they have overly high expectations. Pursuing support so your child’s SEN are met by the right SEP isn’t demanding. It doesn’t make parents ‘sharp elbowed’ or ‘after the ‘golden ticket’. It isn’t about wanting provision or pursuing the best possible provision.