EHCP System in Crisis

There is a growing concern about the government’s actions regarding EHCPs. There are rumours of ceasing them, restricting them to special schools only, creating a totally new process and surely much more in between. The variables are many and the issue is complex. What is clear is that the current system is broken in so many ways.

1. Local Authorities (LAs) cannot keep up with the pace of applications. This is a complex issue. For a long time, the push for applying for an EHCP was to get a special school provision. Now, the application for the EHCP is to secure appropriate educational provision for children based on their needs. This is because the current educational system does not suit many children with additional needs related to autism, dyslexia, speech and language difficulties, sensory processing difficulties and mental health issues often arising from these needs. It’s no wonder that this increase has happened and it is not likely to change.

2. Local Authorities cannot deliver provision for the current and incoming EHCPs. This is due to joint commissioning from health trusts to cover therapy input required to support a child’s education including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. The evidence for this is that children who have EHCPs with specific provision e.g. 1:1 support, or X hours of speech and language therapy are often not receiving this. Recruitment and retention plays into this and this issue is also not going away. The strain on these services both within LAs and NHS Trusts (albeit private companies supplying this) means that staff burnout and turnover is high.

3. The increase in tribunals means that Local Authorities are unable to cope financially. The Local Authority Finance Report stated “Local authority debt has nearly doubled since 2010.” https://niesr.ac.uk/publications/local-authority-finance?type=general-election-briefing And the money that is being spent solely on tribunals was reported in the Guardian, “More than £100m was spent last year by local authorities and the government on failed efforts to block support for children and young people with special educational needs in England.” https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/22/100m-spent-in-england-on-failed-efforts-to-block-childrens-send-support

4. The people that are suffering are children and families. Parents are paying money they do not have to fight for provision that they should not have to fight for while LAs are paying legal fees to get out of providing the appropriate provision. Even then, they are failing so that money is completely wasted as around 99% of tribunals are ruled in favour of the family so the amount of money given to the courts by the LA could have been been better spent on actual provision. The reason for this is not as ludicrous as it seems because the only logical reason for this is that the LAs know that paying the legal fees is cheaper than providing adequate provision the first time as there are a great many cases that will never make it to tribunal and the families will simply accept what they are given because they cannot afford to fight.

5. The system is not fit for purpose and needs to be completely changed. In the meantime, I am here fighting for the children I work with and the families I support. I wake up to care for them each day and offer my best in spite of a system that is stacked against them.