Reform councils to cut SEN spending

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.. according to the Lib Dem’s. Can they even do this? My DC isn’t SEN but her class has 5 TAs mainly as 121s and I dread what would happen if their funding is removed. Our council isn’t Reform led but they’re pretty neck on neck in no overall control.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/apr/24/ed-miliband-energy-pricing-keir-starmer-nigel-farage-latest-live-uk-politics-news

Unsurprising. Reform are very coy about their actual policies but in essence i undertand they want to follow Trump in cutting as much as possible from social spending to pay for tax cuts for the rich while blaming and victimising "immigrants" for everything.
Deeply depressing stuff.

It already isn't fully funded, and funding to education as a whole has been cut in the past year. Yes, they can't stop it, but they can reduce it under the premise of balancing budgets. I work within an NHS team supporting children with disabilities, and we have been told to reduce our budget by 10% this year, as has my husbands council department.

This looks like alarmist reporting. I’d ask the local council directly.

What a surprise. Farage loves Trump so a quick look at what is happening in the US gives a fair idea of the Reform agenda. Vote for a populist get populist policy.

This group gives us an indication and we vote accordingly. It really works. Maybe a collective of residents could set up something similar where you live.

https://www.southdevonprimary.org

The majority of SEN provision is statutory so it cant be cut in that way

I also believe, based on the service users I work with, that SEN families would have constituted a high number of Reform voters. Turkeys voting for xmas. The most vulnerable in society have voted for hard line, right wing (more right wing) policies because they think their own special cause is being overrun with other special causes and feel disgruntled.

Its like the vast majority of those voting for Brexit were people who relied on some way shape or form on the EU and its protections and income.

He would though given the chance. He is very openly far right. Given that the extreme far night murdered thousands of disabled people in concentration camps we can't be surprised that he is going to treat people with disabilities poorly.

Well your council will need to watch out. Parents have successfully sued the council near me due to inadequate provision, so they are now investing in more SEN provision.

I don't support this. However there does need to be a conversation about how much is reasonable to spend on things like taxis to school, TAs. In my experience TAs don't work. They could work if used effectively but at present it's mostly a waste of money. I think people would be shocked if they saw the actual figures. That said to simply cut provision rather than review and restructure it in an attempt to improve it is wrong.

What do you mean by 'used effectively'

TA's are often filling in for teachers which isnt using them effectively if they are meant to be a child's 1-1, but equally we dont have enough teaching staff, so until thats fixed that will continue. There are also not enough TA's because for every child which is supposed to get a 1-1, we're often told by schools that its not a 1-1 for that child specifically, its a TA in the room providing 1-1 to several children.

sen funding already basically doesn't exist in my area anyway.

My son has full time 1-1, we fought to get it in his EHCP in a way it couldn’t be argued! Because he has that provision he is now in year 10 and mainstream and looking likely to do ok in his GCSEs. Without that there is no way he would cope in mainstream education.

TA support is essential to a lot of children, sadly schools often don’t have the funds to use them effectively across the board but they do make a massive difference.

TAs in my experience sit next to an SEN child 'babysitting'. Often that means the child becomes more excluded and certainly doesn't help them progress. Properly trained and used TAs are wonderful. But they are few and far between.

Are they under the impression Reform will increase SEN spending then?

Helping children regulate themselves is not babysitting. And yes some young people need someone physically there to stop them harming themselves and others. Call it babysitting if you like

But there are not enough of them, people dont want to be employed on term time contracts for only 6 hours a week to get hit and kicked and be viewed as a 'baby sitter'

I personally think that when some of these reform councillors actually get into the role they’ll realise how fucked up everything is.

‘According to Lib Dems’

So you don’t actually know this is happening…

the hard facts are that there are more children with send, over all.

survival rates for babies who are born early or have particular illnesses or complications have improved thanks to fantastic medical care, but many do have send, adhd, autism. Or are quite severely physically disabled.

in very simple terms there is a greater need for settings for severe learning difficulties. Children in the past with less severe needs who may have still got a place at in these settings are in those designed for more moderate learning difficulties settings. The children who would have been there in the past are in mainstream.

The other issue I was told of by a GP is that over the last decade or more, foetal drug syndromes are rising.

And that can come from the father as much as the mother.

Well, yes. People don’t want to pay vast sums of money on SEN and social care. They want that budget spent on bin collections, parks, potholes, leisure centres and suchlike. Why is it a surprise that there is such a backlash against the current council spending model?

Plenty of ableist mumsnetters will be all for this - why should their hard-earned money go towards other people's brats? Until they have a disabled child, that is ...

I sincerely hope none of their children have it now or in the future! My 5yo, whilst I don’t profess to be the best parent, is the kindest, most polite little boy, with impeccable manners, but he’s on the go constantly and is almost surely ADHD! Luckily we live in a staunch labour council and luckily didn’t have the benefit of a local election on Thursday! Poor souls who did are in huge trouble!

I think thats because professionals, Im one of them, are becoming more aware that its likely that some diagnoses for ADHD and or ASD have been misdiagnosed. We've had some eye opening training about this last year and now reviewing lots of the children we work with making the appropriate referrals. This is why there is such an explosion.

Oh my what ignorance. Do you know what TAs are actually used for?

It is very rare to get a TA as a 121 for the entire school day( most EHCPs don’t request a 121) and if it is stipulated on an EHCP then independence is encouraged and how they are to be used is listed.

So back to TAs which are crucial to the function of the school day and implementation of SEN provision. Class teachers and SENCOs draw up IEPs and manage EHCPs for a lot of children. In those documents will be many many interventions such as reading,writing and maths interventions, high impact and focused phonics programs as prescribed by the government, speech therapy, physio, mental health programs and an endless list of other bespoke SEN interventions which are vital. TAs also deal with high medical needs such as Stoma bags, insulin, etc sort vomiting, first aid and wet pants etc, etc and in early years you legally need a certain number….

On top of this they run lunchtimes and playtimes alongside sorting the inevitable aftermath of fall outs. They are also the staff lugging furniture around when needed, making resources, displays, organising event and production props, SATs support etc etc- all for a measly minimum wage and little thanks. Many are highly qualified and often ex teachers.

Now if we were going to get rid of TAs who is going to do all this? Class teachers who are already exhausted and don’t have enough hours in the day? How is that going to impact the education of all? Are Reform and you suggesting SEN children don’t get an education or that the normal functioning of schools needs to stop? If they and you are not how do they and you suggest SEN provision is provided?