Commenting on the report of the House of Commons Public Accounts
Committee, ‘Support for children with special educational needs and
disabilities’, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association
of School and College Leaders, said:
“The PAC’s report paints a stark picture of a system for
supporting children with special educational needs which is
poorly funded and ridiculously complicated.
“It is important to understand that many teachers and support
staff do an amazing job for these young people despite these
circumstances, but they need more backing from the government in
the form of sufficient funding, and a system which is more
streamlined and less bureaucratic.
“We welcome the fact that the government has recently launched a
review of the special educational needs system, and the
allocation of more funding in 2020/21, but we need to be clear
that this extra money is not enough to meet demand, and the
financial strain will continue.
“This report comes at a time when many young people with special
educational needs are at home because of the coronavirus crisis
and the consequent shutdown of schools to most pupils.
“When schools reopen, these children are likely to need the most
support, in terms of their wellbeing as well as their academic
work. This makes it even more important to address the funding
shortfall and systemic problems as a matter of urgency.”
