Reform councils to cut SEN spending

[LookingForRecommendation]

.. 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

But even that requires support. A child might have an IQ of 140 but poor auditory processing and an inability to think or stay calm in a busy classroom or their technical language might be excellent but they have significant language processing impairments that make difficult for them to parse even simple instructions or formulate a response so they will still need lots of support and small class sizes whether they're going to sit GCSE or be assessed for basic entry level accreditation.

I would imagine my evidence is much the same as yours, as I said we all have different experiences

"Unpopular opinion but children who are probably never going to be independent/have a job don’t need a formal education. "

My son doesn't have a formal education but does still need to learn how to communicate the best he can etc. This requires a lot of specialist teaching and if you think a non formal education is cheaper, you are wrong.

For every complex problem there is a simple, and wrong, solution. Congratulations.

My hope is that good county councillors are renowned for hard work in their local community. When they don't they are soon slagged off and rendered useless as people generally know them.

Not sure Reform are known for hard work in their local communuties and I suspect they will all be a bit fed up when they find they are being held to account in their towns (and probably don't have huge power).

No not really I have children with SEN and and EHCP and have worked in education with children who have SENs in a variety of settings and in a variety of roles. You sound very ignorant re what you think the remit of an education system actually is.

My experience is similar in that I have one child with Sen and one without and work in education in varied roles at a high level

High level- such as ?

I am not detailing my experience as it will no doubt be outing, it is varied and as I said at a high level. Everyone of us is shaped by our experiences so it is likely we have different views and opinions.

The children with SEN being supported properly benefits every child in the class. Unsupported needs have a knock on around the room (and to a degree the whole school) that’s why we need to ensure needs are identified and when schools and parents are shouting for help provide it!

Sorry we can all say that and your posts indicate quite the opposite. I’d be deeply concerned with anybody working in SEN with views like yours.

Most Reform councillors will just take their allowances and turn up for as few meetings as possible. I cant see many sitting down with their residents and actually helping them. A little like Farage and the residents of Clacton

We all have different views, listening to others is important and being dismissive of others isn’t a response that is helpful

I think there’s some research on over identification of SEN, particularly in summer born dc who catch up. Plus some areas are “soft touches” and attract parents of sen dc. Also the diagnosis isn’t consistent. There is no national formula. The centre for educational neuroscience looked at this.

Also traveller Roma dc have highest incidence of Sen. So heritage is another factor. Even the Guardian said there was a middle class push for diagnosis which meant the wrong dc getting support at the expense of less pushy and informed others. It’s long been the case in many mc areas. So Farage isn’t wholly out of line with research.

What they can do to funding will be interesting. There are strict guidelines on how schools receive Sen funding and it’s not up to Farage councillors to change that. Lots of people who vote Reform won’t understand any of this but will think lack of funding is down to immigrants grabbing the money.

The Warnock report 40 years ago altered the premise of SEN in that it could be temporary and dc could be educated in mainstream schools. Many LAs closed special schools as a result. This has had far reaching repercussions as well as increases in what is considered to be Sen. The Guardian looks at diagnosis to get more time in exams. It’s definitely something we need to be aware of as it’s now affecting 1.3 million dc.

Not dismissive of views differing to mine just views like yours for the reasons I have explained.

Your tone was dismissive earlier admittedly it is now more polite. I do not engage in aggressive exchanges and it is disappointing that you choose to do so.

If the electorate chooses to vote in a far right party like Reform, then it is only to be expected that there will be vulnerable people in our society who will suffer as a result of that choice.

Sadly, this is the downside of democracy, and most people will only really start to care when the fuckers start coming for them or their loved ones.

Well when you post inflammatory and quite ignorant posts you get the responses you get. 🤷‍♀️

what an ignorant post. There are still many skills to learn for them which will make a huge difference to their lives - and the amount of support they need. Many so not only not work but need social care support/supported living arrangements. Many college courses for those with more complex needs cover essential life skills. It will absolutely make a big difference to the support (and the cost of that) needed many years down the road.

It's a very strange measure to pick in a way.

It tells us nothing about the fact that a hypermobile student with down syndrome learned to walk without pain due to the in-school OT / physio, or the pre-verbal child that gradually edged unto verbal enough to cover thier basic needs, or the child that learned emotional regulation and could now work in a cafe as a result.

Some on this thread are conflating diagnosis and SEN. A child or young person doesn’t require a diagnosis to be classed as having SEN, and the definition of SEN is the same wherever in England you are. The definition is set out in section 20 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Support in schools isn’t based on a diagnosis. Exam access arrangements don’t require a diagnosis either.

There hasn’t been such a huge increase in SEN compared to historical rates as some people like to claim. For example, the latest SEN statistics from 23/24 show there were 1,673,205 children and young people with SEN. The official government statistics from January 2014 show 1.49 million pupils had SEN. Down from 1.55 million in 2013.

Even the Guardian

Oh yes, that well known accurate source of information… The sharp elbowed parents seeking the golden ticket rhetoric suits the narrative of some in politics and clearly some on this thread. Parents advocating and enforcing their DC’s legal rights are not to blame for the state of the SEN system. If services didn’t act unlawfully as often as they do, parents wouldn’t have to enforce their DC’s rights. Rather than blaming some parents, all parents should be supported to know the law, advocate and enforce their DC’s rights.

Thankfully, Reform can’t (at the moment) change the law so they can say whatever they want.

As there's not enough funding for educational psychologists etc anyway, if they then decide to make cuts, they will then hit the problem most councils have of parents appealing and taking their case to judicial review and the statutory obligation to pay for private assessment when a local authority fails to meet time frames.

Friend and I were talking about this yesterday and saying that they would probably find that the cost of fighting all the judicial reviews would probably be greater than meeting the needs in the first place.

I used to work in local government and having loads of new councillors all at once was a nightmare. They always thought they had far more power than they actually do, and frequently wanted to start doing stuff they didn't have the power to do and stop doing stuff that was a statutory duty.

Perhaps we should go back to the system in place when I was at school in the '60s.

Children with special needs went to special schools, where they were barely educated at all, and reached school leaving age with no hope of ever finding employment.

Parents could contribute towards the cost of SEN provision for their child, including TAs and taxis/transport to school?

That might help with the ever rising (and wholly unsustainable) cost.

Do you think parents of DC without SEN who are educated by the state should pay towards their DC’s education and transport (beyond paying tax)? Or is it just families with DC with SEN you discriminate against?