The MP for Dulwich has said rumoured government plans to overhaul the system which gives children a legal right to special support in schools risks “increasing fear” for families and “won’t restore” their trust.
Helen Hayes, the chair of the House of Commons education committee, said the mooted proposals to scrap special educational needs assessments risked “increasing the fear and anxiety of families who are already being failed by the SEND support system”.
More than 600,000 children in England receive Education, health and care plans – a statement granted by local councils which gives schools funding to spend on making reasonable adjustments for pupils with special educational needs (Send).
The government has admitted the system is no longer fit for purpose and is looking at drawing up a new model of Send support and has not ruled out scrapping EHCPs altogether.
Appearing to criticise the government’s communication of its plans, Hayes hit out at “ad hoc announcements and rumours” which she said were “only increasing the fear and anxiety of families who are already being failed by the SEND support system and won’t restore the much-needed trust and confidence of families.”
Describing the existing model as a “broken system”, the Dulwich MP added that the government needed to “engage openly and transparently with parents, carers and professionals who are all desperate for change and whose experience must be central to this process.”
James Watson-O’Neill, Chief Executive of the national disability charity Sense, said the current system was “undeniably broken” but defended EHC plans which he said “work well in principle if they are properly funded.”
He said: “Snatching away EHC plans from thousands of disabled children, and removing their legal rights to the education they need, is not the answer to the ongoing crisis in the specialist education system. But growing signs that the government is planning exactly that are causing widespread uncertainly and fear among the parents of disabled children.
“The current system is undeniably broken. Disabled children face long waiting times and a woeful lack of services in many parts of the country. And these indefensible delays in support can have serious, lifelong consequences for disabled children.
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“But EHC plans in themselves work well in principle – if they are properly funded. The government needs to urgently put a long-term funding plan in place. And any reforms must be developed alongside disabled children and their families, so disabled children’s needs are put first.”
The spiralling number of children requiring an ECHP has led to an increase in waiting times, with some families left waiting for more than a year for a plan to be issued. According to government statistics, just half of new plans were granted on time last year.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government inherited a SEND system left on its knees – which is why we are listening to parents and looking at changes to enable more children to thrive in mainstream settings and stop parents having to fight for help.
“The Education Secretary has been clear that there will always be a legal right to additional support for children with SEND.
“This government is actively working with parents and experts on the solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.”
