Solving the SEND Crisis

Created: 19 September 2025

Solving the SEND Crisis – Summary (Education Committee, 2025)

The House of Commons Education Committee’s report “Solving the SEND Crisis” (September 2025) addresses the growing challenges in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England.

Since the Children and Families Act 2014, the number of identified pupils with SEND has risen from 1.3 million to 1.7 million, with nearly 500,000 holding Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.

The Committee concludes that the current system is adversarial, underfunded, inconsistent, and failing families. It calls for inclusive mainstream education as the foundation, backed by reform in funding, accountability, workforce development, cross-sector partnerships, and early intervention.

The State of Inclusive Education in England

Rising Need and Complexity

The number of pupils with EHC plans has more than doubled since 2015.
Needs are becoming more complex:
- Autism is the most common diagnosis for EHC plans.
- Speech, language, and communication needs dominate SEN support.
- COVID-19 worsened mental health and social/emotional needs.
Local authorities increasingly rely on independent specialist schools, which are costly and often far from home.

Attainment and Outcomes

Pupils with SEND consistently underperform compared with peers.
At Key Stage 4, only 30.8% of SEND pupils achieved grade 4+ in English and Maths vs 72.3% of non-SEND pupils.
Post-16 outcomes are poor: fewer SEND students sustain education, apprenticeships, or employment.

Attendance and Exclusion

Persistent absence is disproportionately high: one-third of pupils with EHC plans were persistently absent in 2023/24.
Suspension and exclusion rates are 3–4 times higher for SEND pupils, often due to unmet needs misinterpreted as behaviour problems.

Barriers to Inclusion

The Committee identified systemic barriers preventing inclusion:

No clear definition of inclusive education.

Inconsistent SEN support across schools.

Workforce shortages (especially specialists).

Weak accountability and oversight.

Severe funding shortfalls.

Poor collaboration between health and education.

Lack of early intervention in the early years.

Drop-off in support post-16.

Securing Inclusive Education

Ordinarily Available Provision

The report calls for national standards to define what schools must provide as “ordinarily available provision”.
This would reduce inconsistency and limit unnecessary escalation to EHC plans.

SEN Support

Quality varies widely across schools.
Many parents feel pushed into tribunals because early support is insufficient.

Access to Specialists

Long waits for assessments from speech therapists or psychologists delay support.
Specialists are too often tied up writing reports instead of providing direct interventions.

Education, Health and Care Plans

Only 46% of EHC plans are issued within the statutory 20 weeks.
Parents frequently win tribunal cases, exposing systemic under-provision.

Restoring Trust and Confidence

Parental Involvement

Parents often describe the system as hostile and exhausting.
They feel excluded from decision-making and treated as adversaries.
Local authority staff need training in SEND law, mediation, and respectful engagement.

Accountability Mechanisms

Ofsted: Inspections should embed inclusion as a central criterion.
SEND Tribunals: Parents overwhelmingly win cases, but the process is burdensome.
Area SEND inspections: Need stronger enforcement of accountability, especially for health services.

Improving Early Years for Lasting Impact

Funding and Programmes

The early years sector is underfunded and under-resourced.
Proven interventions like NELI (Nuffield Early Language Intervention) and ELSEC should be rolled out nationally.

Best Start for Life

The initiative is welcomed but must embed SEND inclusion from the start, ensuring children’s needs are met before escalation.

Post-16 Education and Training

The “Cliff Edge” at 16

Despite entitlement to support until 25, many young people lose access after age 16.
Further education and skills policies often overlook SEND entirely.

Curriculum and Assessment

The rigid GCSE resit policy in English and Maths undermines SEND learners’ confidence.
A more flexible curriculum with diverse vocational and work-based pathways is needed.

Destinations

Outcomes remain weaker than peers, with declining apprenticeship uptake among SEND students.

Equipping the Workforce

Teacher Training and CPD

SEND training in Initial Teacher Training and the Early Career Framework is inadequate.
Mandatory, ongoing CPD on SEND is essential.

SENCOs and Support Staff

SENCOs are overstretched; the Committee recommends:
- Protected time for their role.
- National training standards.
- Better resources.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) are frontline staff but need structured training and career pathways.

Specialist and Local Authority Staff

Shortages of psychologists, therapists, and trained local authority staff slow support.
A national SEND workforce plan is needed, jointly led by the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care.

Achieving a Sustainable Model of Funding

Local Authority Deficits

High-needs block deficits are spiralling.
Transport costs and independent placements are major drivers.
The statutory override only delays insolvency risks.

National Funding Formula

School funding has not kept pace with rising needs.
The report calls for long-term financial planning across DfE, HM Treasury, and MHCLG.

Building Stronger Partnerships

Cross-Sector Collaboration

Education, health, and social care still work in silos, delaying support.
Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined.

Health Sector Accountability

Health services are too passive in SEND provision.
The Committee calls for:
- Statutory SEND duties for health services.
- Appointment of a national SEND lead within the Department of Health and Social Care.

Expanding Capacity Within the SEND System

School Capacity

Special schools are oversubscribed; two-thirds are at or above capacity.
Reliance on independent schools is unsustainable.

Resource Bases and Planning

Better data collection and longer-term funding cycles are needed for planning.

Home-to-School Transport

Transport costs have doubled in a decade and are a major strain on local budgets.

International and Local Insights

Norwich

Visits in Norfolk showed innovative inclusive practices in mainstream schools and colleges.

Canada

In Ontario, inclusive mainstream education is embedded as the norm.
Key lessons:
- Clear definitions of inclusion.
- Workforce investment.
- Strong parental engagement.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The SEND system is failing too many children. Rising need, financial instability, and adversarial relationships with families make it unsustainable.

Core Recommendations

Publish a clear definition of inclusive education with national standards.
Strengthen accountability across Ofsted, tribunals, and local authorities.
Develop a national SEND workforce plan addressing shortages and embedding SEND training.
Stabilise funding with long-term strategies and deficit resolution.
Impose statutory SEND duties on health services and appoint a national lead.
Expand capacity strategically, reducing reliance on independent schools and costly transport.
Invest in early years interventions like NELI and ELSEC.
Reform post-16 pathways with broader options beyond GCSE resits.
Treat parents as partners, with transparency and respect.

Without urgent reform, the SEND system will remain under unsustainable pressure, denying children their rights and undermining parental trust. A decisive shift toward inclusive, well-funded, and collaborative education is essential to deliver justice and opportunity for all young people with SEND.