Supporting kids with Send is expensive. But the cost of not doing so is far greater

The Guardian

12 hours ago

Three of my four children have had full EHCPs. These are education, health and care plans, which means each child's needs have been assessed and documented. They guarantee that appropriate provision to meet those needs has been agreed and must now be delivered by law. Well-written EHCPs are invaluable, particularly the legal part. Without it there would be no rigour, no meaningful challenge and, ultimately, no power to ensure that the right educational support is provided.
Naturally, then, I was worried when earlier this year the government began discussing reforms, with the possibility of scrapping EHCPs. Ministers said they had inherited a system on its knees, with local authorities struggling to cope with the rising demand for support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). The government's plans are due to be published in October, and I fear where they will leave children like mine.
One of my children was diagnosed as autistic at the age of seven. They struggled in school for years, hitting academic targets but withdrawing into an isolated, fear-filled, friendless space, with daily meltdowns on their return home. The school failed to understand what was happening and as my child reached their teens, with pressure mounting, my husband and I began to fight on every front, attempting to get an EHCP, facing a tribunal, battling with a school that seemed to lack compassion and desperately trying to access therapy.
As a result of societal pressure and our abject fear of the school attendance officer, we demanded more of our child – ordering, cajoling and begging them to come out of their bedroom and go to school. This went on for months until one day, they simply refused to go. A pattern of low attendance followed. The system had broken my child, and later, with an incident of massive self-harm, they let us all know that no one was listening. We sat for days in hospital on suicide watch. From time to time, my child would check their phone only to find bullying messages (up to 94% of autistic children are bullied). Something had to shift.
We managed to get a simple (not full hours) EHCP, but it took so long to come through that it no longer applied to the child we were now faced with. Finally, two years later, a fantastic Send officer at our local authority took our case on, gold-standard provision was agreed and the impact was transformative. For instance, if our child couldn't make it into school, the teaching assistant (TA) would come to our home and work with them. This created a safe bridge between school and home and led to them going into school almost every day.
Another of our children, who is adopted and has complex needs, presented with very challenging behaviours at school and has experienced permanent exclusions. From those first incidents, it took more than two years to organise an EHCP and get them into an appropriate educational setting. Permanent exclusion has risen by 39% in English schools in the past two years and is common among children and young people with Send. When you consider that many thousands of children are waiting more than 20 weeks to get an EHCP, it makes sense that there are problems in classrooms.
Another of our autistic children spent three years out of education between the ages of 11 and 14, waiting for an appropriate school within an hour of home. A private school for autistic children was eventually found, and our child has flourished. The school costs the local authority a lot of money, but without the EHCP our child could well have remained out of education. This often means taking a tax-paying parent out of the workforce as they become full-time carers, the child's teacher, therapist and social circle. The outcome for these children is likely to mean no job, mental health issues and early death (autistic people are nine times more likely to die from suicide). The long-term cost to health and social care is great.
These are just three examples of why EHCPs matter. If children do not have an EHCP they will often end up refusing to go to school. When a child responds with aggression and violence, they are letting the grownups know that school isn't working. Without an EHCP, my child learned that a violent outburst meant they would be taken to a quiet space outside the classroom, which is exactly what they wanted. They were letting staff know that without help, the classroom was intolerable. An EHCP would have given my child an allocated, full-time TA and strategies and plans for help. Send children often experience unmet needs in school and with increasing mental health challenges (only 32% of those trying to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are getting support) the challenges can escalate very quickly.
I have attended a number of meetings where the government's strategic adviser on Send, Christine Lenehan, has hinted at the scrapping of EHCPs. It always causes real fear among those present. To be clear, the vast majority of EHCPs are applied for by schools, not parents. Without them, teachers are set up to fail, their passionate vocational callings moving towards disillusionment.
So far, their voices have not been heard in the argument. An Ofsted report shows that 30% of teachers are asking for more Send training. Teachers rely heavily on TAs in the classroom and one child's EHCP may cover the cost of that extra staff member. We need to empower teachers and especially value our incredible TAs. Schools' senior leadership teams need to create environments where all belong – staff and children – but they cannot do this if there is a lack of awareness, training and funding, and no legal mandate.
With the current delays in issuing EHCPs, we clearly see the impact of their absence. Our children end up at home, out of school, with no social life, no education and most importantly, no sense of belonging. This affects their whole lives. They may never be part of the workforce or have a meaningful social circle. They may never take their place in society. The government has clearly taken into account the cost of EHCPs. Now it needs to focus on the cost of not providing them.
Carrie Grant is a TV presenter and voice coach and a parent of four children with special educational needs
In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978