To ask you to explain SEND funding and bankrupt councils to me?

[Myanna]

I've read a few articles like this one:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/feb/05/send-costs-bankrupt-english-local-authorities

But I don't understand why the cost of funding SEND is so high that it's going to potentially/actually make most councils insolvent.

It's not like provision is generous or easy to get, from what I've read (I don't have a child who is supported).

Were these kids previously just not supported in any way by the state and was it left to families to cope as best they could?
Are these kids who previously wouldn't have survived, but now do because of better medical care and therefore need a lot of help?
Is this private equity running enterprises and charging huge amounts to local authorities?
Is it just inflation and the cost of employing people?

I really don't know much about this at all but I'm sure many on here do, so I'd really welcome your knowledge.

And a significant number are transported in individual taxis. I live rurally so maybe I see it more than in urban settings. I wonder what percentage of those parents are perfectly capable of getting their own kid to school using the mobility car and DLA money.

My son also has a state education its an LA special school ,however it is the law that if a child, s needs cannot be met in an LA school its the LA,s responsibility to find and fund.a school thst can meet the child's need ,s these schools csn cost ££££,s

"The thing is if a child is currently being fund to the tune of £50k plus then it leaves a lot of scope to fund all kinds of things and still make a saving."

My son now has EOTAS due to no suitable school and it costs more than 50k. Specialist staff coming to work in someone's home are expensive. You also need care staff at the same time to provide for the care needs of the child.

"I wonder what percentage of those parents are perfectly capable of getting their own kid to school using the mobility car and DLA money."

In most cases there will not be a motability car.

Well parents can want what they want but professionals are not going to diagnose a child with something they dont have because the parent wants it.

I'm not saying we do this but my point is that the law as it stands does need to change as it is clearly unaffordable and places unfunded obligations of councils. I was highlighting how unfunded obligations are completely unfair on whoever they are placed on. It's the equivalent of writing a blank cheque.

One problem with shifting responsibility to the parents is that plenty of parents are shit parents. Not only that they might have the best of intentions but be incapable. Ultimately the kids would suffer, rights to education belong to the child, not the parents.

Yes, again I'm not disputing how the current law works. That's why we are in this mess. Unfunded, unlimited legal obligations. This is what needs to change.

This will be because the LA has to basically fund carers etc as if the child was at school. The parents isn't the carer in a lot of these setups.

How would laws be able to change though without also having to change discrimination laws and/or all children having the right to a state education?

There is a middle ground and professionals can be swayed by the information given by parents.
Plus the time and effort spent responding to repeated requests for assessments, support etc are costly in themselves.
As said, this is the minority but it is enough to have an impact.

And yet we let parents deregister their kids from school all the time.

How would you change it
Your idea of delivering a couple of specialist sessions a week individually doesnt mske sense financially
It will often be far more expensive this way then to deliver the same thing to a group of children under the same roof.

Not to mention not appropriate for all children just because they have high rate DLA.

Well plenty do have a mobility car, highest rate DLA and still get individual taxis to school costing hundreds of pounds a week.

Even if you had the parent facilitating the EOTAS/EOTIS by providing the care and supervision part of the package, it can still be far more than £50k.

if you think parents of disabled DC should provide education, do you also think parents of non-disabled DC should? How did that go down during Covid? Or is it only disabled families you are happy to discriminate against?

You can offer everyone a state education without the current SEN/ECHP system. This is what Labour are looking at. Essentially this would reduce some children's legal right to SEN support without removing their right to an education.

They dont just go off what parents say though
My son was diagnosed with autism and learning disabilities at three ,in his case it was abundantly obvious, but even then it took 7 months of assessment, s from ,speech and language, portage, nursery ,paediatric learning disability team ,the nursery he was at at time and it then went to panel ,to get a diagnosis
And this was a child with severe autism and learning disabilities.

Highest mobility rate DLA is the only way families are eligible for a motability car. Some children may have the highest care rate but not the highest mobility rate which would rule out the motability car.

Agree.
As a country we have to start making grown up decisions rather than spewing unlimited cash at some people

Probably disclosing far to much but I was that child. My mum lied and lied to medical professionals about me when I was a child. Told them I had epilepsy (I didn't) and other conditions and got extra benefits money because of this. I'm in my 50s.

"This will be because the LA has to basically fund carers etc as if the child was at school. The parents isn't the carer in a lot of these setups."

The parent may well have other responsibilities at that time just like parents of non disabled children.

I didn’t say that professionals “just go off” anything.
I think perhaps you are taking my view as a comment on your personal situation, which it is not.

Imagine the chaos in the classroom with children wuth significant needs being allowed to run riot
How will that help anyone including mainstream children.?

In these cases then I imagine a specialist school place would be even more expensive.

I don't think all parents of disabled children should educate them. I simply think there may be scenarios where this is the best option for everyone and funding should be allowed for this.