Special needs support in crisis as demand for EHCP assessments soar 250 per cent since 2014 reforms, reveals IPPR

• Families face SEND vicious cycle as EHCPs are seen as the only means of securing support 

• Children left waiting as less than half of EHCPs issued within 20-week legal limit, with thousands waiting over a year 

• IPPR recommends new school-based ‘Additional Learning Support'  

The current approach to supporting children with special educational needs is no longer fit for purpose, according to a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). 

Last year, less than half (46.4 per cent) of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) were issued within the statutory time limit of 20 weeks. For one in 14 young people, the wait was longer than a year. 

IPPR's analysis by local authority found that over half (57.2 per cent) of young people in Leeds wait more than a year for their EHCPs. While at least one in five have to wait over 52 weeks in 14 other councils. 

New research by the think tank reveals that the number of EHCP needs assessments conducted by local authorities has increased by 250 per cent between 2013 and 2024. Last year alone, 105,240 young people underwent an EHCP needs assessment. This surge means that more and more children are being forced to rely on a system already struggling to meet their needs. 

One in five children are identified with special educational needs (19.5 per cent) and over 5 per cent of all pupils now access the highest level of special educational needs support through EHCPs, almost double the 2017 figure. 

More assessments and more plans also mean more complaints and court cases. In 2023/24 there were 21,000 registered appeals, up 55 per cent on the previous year. Almost all were found in favour of parents. 

The authors of the report say poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic are possible drivers of increasing need, alongside cuts to support services. The report highlights a 46 per cent fall on spending on early intervention between 2010/11 and 2021/22, the closure of 1,340 Sure Start centres over the same period, and a 26 per cent real terms cut to public health services since 2015/16. 

The reliance on EHCPs means that funding and resources are taken away from early intervention in mainstream schools, which in turn creates a self-perpetuating cycle of high costs, growing waiting lists and more children with unmet needs. 

The think tank set up the IPPR Inclusion Taskforce to find a cross-party solution to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The final recommendations include: 

• Creating a new Additional Learning Support system, delivered in schools by schools to provide timely, high quality, evidence-based support to pupils with SEND needs and revamp EHCPs into LA coordinated plans for the most complex cases

• Retaining existing EHCPs, so no child with a current plan will lose one until the new system is working for families and children  

• Invest in teacher training and SEND professionals by rebalancing funding towards early intervention so schools have the experts and resources they need to support children with additional learning needs 

Avnee Morjaria, associate director for public services at IPPR (and former teacher, school leader and OFSTED inspector), said:  

“The SEND system is in a vicious cycle with help arriving only once children's needs have intensified enough to warrant an EHCP. This syphons money away from early intervention in mainstream schools and is entirely unacceptable for families who should receive help without having to wait. It would be far better for most children to have their needs met sooner in mainstream settings by the people that know them best.”

Geoff Barton CBE, former teacher, headteacher and general secretary of the ASCL and IPPR Inclusion Taskforce chair, said:

“I know many schools and trusts that want to do more to support children with SEND, but the current system makes this challenging. Funding is locked behind thresholds, delays in getting necessary support can stretch on for years, and teacher training doesn't cover the expertise our teachers need on behalf the young people they teach. We need to radically reform the system so that resources are readily available to provide children with effective and timely support, and so that parents feel genuine and active partners in their child's educational journey."

Baroness Morgan of Cotes, former secretary of state for education and IPPR Inclusion Taskforce member, said:

“As this report makes clear the SEND landscape has evolved considerably since the last reforms. Tinkering around the edges of the system will not be enough to give all children, especially those with additional needs, an excellent education. At the same time any reform must include the voices of families and carers, without whom successful delivery of any reform will not be possible.”

Baroness Anne Longfield, former Children's Commissioner and IPPR Inclusion Taskforce member, said:

"The SEN system is broken and failing many thousands of children with additional needs, diminishing their education and their life chances.

"This report demonstrates why reform is needed so urgently, and why inclusion must run right through our education system. All children should be part of a school community that is welcoming and inclusive, that is supported to meet their needs, and which is aspirational about the achieving the very best outcomes."