Commenting on the Education Policy Institute (EPI) report
'Identifying pupils with special educational needs and
disabilities', Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association
of School and College Leaders, said:
“It is essential that every child with special educational needs
gets the right support, and we are extremely concerned by this
report’s findings that a child’s chances of being identified with
SEND are a postcode lottery.
“Of particular concern is the conclusion that the type of school
may be a factor in identifying SEND, and that children from the
most disadvantaged areas are less likely to be identified than
similar children in more affluent areas.
“It is very difficult to know what is driving these patterns and
we would caution against jumping to conclusions in an extremely
complex educational landscape.
“However, what we do know is that everybody in the school system
– in whatever type of school or area – is utterly committed to
correctly identifying SEND and providing the support that
children require.
“Schools have not been helped by the fact that government funding
for this support has not matched the level of need, and that the
SEND funding system is byzantine in its complexity.
“We agree with the report’s recommendations for improving the
system for identifying and supporting pupils with SEND, and we
are grateful to the EPI for shining a light on this issue.”
