‘Different thinking' needed on Send funding, Phillipson says
Parents will need to 'think very differently' about government funding for children with special educational needs, the education secretary has said, as school leaders say the current system is on the brink of collapse.
Speaking to the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference in Liverpool, Bridget Phillipson said the 2014 Children and Families Act needed to be changed to reform the current system in England that was driving local authorities towards insolvency.
She said: 'I think we need to take a step back from the system that we have right now, the system that came from the 2014 reforms, and start to think very differently about what that system will look like. And that's a conversation that in the months to come we'll be having with parents..
'We all know the challenges. The hard bit is how we ensure we have a lasting system that really endures in a way that, frankly, the system 10 years ago hasn't delivered.'
Since 2014, local authorities in England have funded special education needs and disabilities (Send) provision for children and young people through their high-needs budgets. But as statutory claims for additional support through education, health and care plans (EHCPs) have soared, councils have been forced to run budget deficits that are estimated to reach a collective £5bn.
This month the Guardian revealed that ministers are preparing a white paper to overhaul Send provision, with local authorities lobbying the government to give them more control over costs by limiting parental rights to appeals.
Asked if the plans included making it harder for children to qualify for extra support through an EHCP, Phillipson said: 'I understand the anxiety that parents feel, not least because the system we've got at the moment is so adversarial, so pressured, where parents have to fight really hard.
'What I want to get to is a system where support is put in place far more quickly for children who need additional support; much earlier identification of need; much more timely intervention and support.
'That's a world away from where we are at the moment, and the system that we've inherited from the Conservatives has lost the confidence of parents.'
Phillipson denied that the need to rein in spending was behind the reforms. She said: 'My first priority in reforming the system is better outcomes for children. Clearly, there are cost pressures alongside this, but that is not the driver of what we're seeking to achieve. It is about better outcomes for children with Send.'
Manny Botwe, the ASCL's president, earlier told the conference: 'Schools are struggling to afford the costs of Send provision, and we are facing a shortage of places in special schools to meet growing demand. The whole system is on the brink of collapse, and we cannot allow this to continue.'
In Phillipson's speech, the education secretary announced a new call for evidence on how to make mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with special needs, after last year announcing an extra £740m in capital funding to allow adaptions.
Sign up to First Edition
Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters
after newsletter promotion
She said promoting greater inclusion would be more effective. Phillipson told the conference: 'Children thinking differently in different ways is a gift, and it's time to recognise that. I've been told [inclusion] is too hard, that it can't be done. Of course it's not easy, but it is possible. There are schools and trusts doing it already.'
The call for evidence will be led by Tom Rees, the chair of the government's expert advisory group on inclusion, to improve inclusion within mainstream schools.
Rees said: 'What's clear is that there is consensus to move beyond just talking about the problems with the Send system and to push forward practical and evidence-led solutions which build on good work where it is happening in the system.'
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, said: 'We all want to build an inclusive education system and build parental confidence on Send but our question is simply, where is the funding?'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Trade unions join forces to demand end to ban on 'sympathy strikes'
Secondary industrial action - where a trade union asks its members to take action against their employer in solidarity with workers elsewhere who are in dispute - has been banned since the early 1990s Trade unions have joined together to call for laws banning 'sympathy strikes' to be scrapped. Secondary industrial action - where a trade union asks its members to take action against their employer in solidarity with workers elsewhere who are in dispute - has been banned since the early 1990s. Now the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the British Medical Association (BMA) and other unions have signed a joint statement in support of a proposed change to the Employment Rights Bill, currently going through the House of Lords. The statement reads: "For too long, the current legal restrictions have served to isolate disputes, weaken solidarity and limit workers' ability to collectively challenge unfair conditions - particularly in an increasingly fragmented and outsourced employment landscape.' Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright said: 'It's time for the government to finally overturn anti-worker laws brought in by the Conservatives to attack pay and conditions. 'The ban on workers supporting strikes across sectors is a Tory relic from the nineties. 'The aim has always been to isolate and limit workers' ability to stand up against employers threatening pay cuts and worsening conditions. 'These undemocratic restrictions are part of the UK being one of the worst countries for workers' rights in Europe. We urge all members of the House of Lords to support this amendment and restore this basic democratic right.'
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
NHS to get £30bn boost over three years at expense of other services
The NHS is set to receive a £30bn funding boost in the spending review next week, at the expense of other public services. The Department of Health is expected to emerge as the biggest winner on Wednesday with a 2.8% increase to its day-to-day spending budget over a three-year period, amounting to a £30bn rise by 2028. This amounts to a £17bn real-terms increase according to the Times, which first reported the figure. The cash injection will come at the expense of other public services such as policing and local councils, which are facing real-terms cuts in the spending review. Ministers are planning to put the increase in health spending, as well as plans for over £100bn in capital investment, at the centre of their pitch to the public this week. Keir Starmer has pledged that by the next election, 92% of patients in England waiting for planned treatment will be seen within 18 weeks of being referred. NHS data suggests about 60% of people are currently seen within this time. NHS figures released last month showed the overall number of patients on waiting lists had risen slightly from 6.24 million to 6.25 million. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has acknowledged that she had been forced to rebuff requests for funding from some departments because of the tight economic situation. She has insisted the blame lies with Conservatives and has declined to reassess her self-imposed rules on borrowing and spending. Speaking in Manchester this week, the chancellor said despite a £190bn increase in funding over the spending review period 'not every department will get everything that they want next week and I have had to say no to things that I want to do too'. The Foreign Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport are thought to be facing some of the deepest cuts. Economists have warned that the chancellor faces 'unavoidably' tough choices when she sets out the departmental spending plans. The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has said defence and the NHS will dominate on 11 June. The Home Office has been lobbying heavily for more funding, with Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, warning that cuts threaten progress towards two of the prime minister's 'missions' — halving knife crime and halving violence against women and girls. Police chiefs including Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police service, warned Starmer directly in a letter this week that they would face 'stark choices' about which crimes they investigate if the Treasury pushes ahead with cuts. One of the areas in which the Home Office has sought to cut spending is on hotels to temporarily house asylum seekers in the UK. But according to figures published on Saturday, the department plans to spend about £2.2bn of foreign aid to support asylum seekers this financial year. This is only marginally less than the £2.3bn spent in 2024-2025. Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and have been assessed as not being able to support themselves independently. International rules allow countries to count first-year costs of supporting refugees as overseas development assistance. A total of 32,345 asylum seekers were being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March this year, down 15% from the end of December. The Home Office said it was 'urgently taking action to restore order and reduce costs', which would cut the amount spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
Belfast Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
NHS set for boost of up to £30bn as other budgets feel squeeze
The Department of Health is set to be handed a 2.8% annual increase in its day-to-day budget over a three-year period. The cash injection, which amounts to a rise of about £30 billion by 2028, or £17 billion in real terms, will see other areas including police and councils squeezed, The Times newspaper reported. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to ensure that by the next election 92% of patients in England waiting for planned treatment are seen within 18 weeks of being referred. Latest NHS data suggests around 60% of people are currently seen in this time and figures released last month showed the overall number of patients on waiting lists had risen slightly from 6.24 million to 6.25 million. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has acknowledged that she had been forced to turn down requests for funding in a sign of the behind-the-scenes wrangling over her spending review. She insisted the blame for the tight economic situation lay with the Conservatives rather than her rigid rules on borrowing and spending. The Chancellor said despite a £190 billion increase in funding over the spending review period 'not every department will get everything that they want next week and I have had to say no to things that I want to do too'. On top of the increase in day-to-day spending, funded in part by the tax hikes Ms Reeves set out in her budget, looser borrowing rules will help support a £113 billion investment package. Economists have warned the Chancellor faces 'unavoidably' tough choices when she sets out departmental spending plans on June 11. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said defence and the NHS will dominate the review, raising the prospect of cuts to other unprotected departments.
