Latest news with #ECHP
Daily Mirror
09-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'My support plan was my lifeline - Keir Starmer must not scrap them'
Hannah Steadman, 19, who suffers from several chronic conditions - including epilepsy and autism, delivered an open letter to the prime minister, sighed by over 10,000 people A disabled student has travelled to 10 Downing Street in her wheelchair to deliver a heartfelt open letter - signed by more than 10,000 people - to Keir Starmer asking him not to scrap EHCPs. Nineteen-year-old Hannah Steadman, who has several chronic conditions - including epilepsy and autism - tells the Prime Minister how school became so challenging she felt she 'couldn't go in any more' until her 'life changed' after getting an educational health and care plan (EHCP) two years ago. She is writing amidst fears that the government white paper, to be published in the autumn detailing reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, could see EHCPs being scrapped. She adds: 'Thanks to my EHC plan, I'm now looking to the future and planning to start a Level 3 Acting and Performance qualification at college in September. 'It is no exaggeration to say this plan completely transformed my experience of school.' Before getting her EHCP, aged 16, south Londoner Hannah tells Sir Keir: 'By this point I was at home because my school had deemed me attending a health risk and a safeguarding issue.' Describing how her plan meant she had transport, so she could get to school, how she had someone to push her wheelchair and her lessons were moved to the ground floor, making them accessible, she then tells the Prime Minister: 'I'd like to invite you to meet with me, and a group of other disabled young people, to talk about the difference an EHC plan has made to us.' Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Hannah, who is supported by the charity Ambitious About Autism, says: 'I was really excited to go to Downing Street. Knowing that 10,000 people have signed my letter feels incredible. 'When I was experiencing the worst of my issues in school it felt like no-one cared, so to know that many people are behind me is really great. 'I wanted to write this letter and to share my story, because I truly feel that having an EHCP was the thing that salvaged what was left of my education, and I want other young people to have that legal right to support too. READ MORE: British traitor fighting for Russia brags he's won a medal for 'wiping out' Ukrainians 'Without an EHCP I would never have finished school as I was too exhausted to keep pushing back and fighting to get my needs met. 'Education opens up so many doors, and every young person should have the same right to an education, and the same standard of education. For me an ECHP was the thing that helped me to achieve that. 'I don't think the government really understands the impact of what would happen if they do scrap EHCPs, and how many lives that would disrupt.' Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager for The DIsabled Children's Partnership - which represents 1.7 million children - says ECHPs are essential to ensure children with additional needs have the same opportunity as their friends to have an education. He says: 'The SEND community is not asking for anything special - we are simply fighting for an ordinary education, an ordinary commute to school and a seat in a classroom where a child can learn.'
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Why Keir Starmer could face a fresh rebellion over disability support for Send children?
Sir Keir Starmer is yet to recover from the bruising U-turn on his botched benefit cuts, but he is already facing a fresh rebellion. A similar coalition of MPs and campaign groups, including many of the same charities that opposed reforms to welfare, are warning the prime minister not to cut education plans for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). The PM was badly weakened by the chaos around his planned welfare bill, and backbenchers now appear to know they can force their leader's hand if they apply enough pressure. But Sir Keir, and his chancellor Rachel Reeves, will be acutely aware of the pressure on the public finances and can scarcely afford another multi-billion pound policy change. The Independent looks at why the government is under pressure over Send, and what it is likely to do about it. What are education, health and care plans (ECHPs)? An education, health and care plan (EHCP) outlines the tailored support needed by those aged 25 and under to meet their social care needs. It is designed to help those with disabilities get what they need to access learning and achieve their potential. The documents are legally binding, based on assessments by professionals and set out the support young people individually need. Are the ECHPs at risk? The campaign group Save Our Children's Rights has warned that the government is planning to weaken or remove the right to an ECHP, as well as other rights including the right to attend a suitable school and receive support such as speech and language therapy. It said the government plans are to save money, with support for children with learning difficulties or disabilities currently costing £12bn a year. The Department for Education has said there are 'no plans to remove funding or support from children, families and schools'. 'It would be totally inaccurate to suggest that children, families or schools might experience any loss of funding or support,' a spokesman said. Why would the government cut EHCPs? The government previously turned to support for the disabled when it sought to slash £5bn from the welfare bill through cuts to the personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability benefit. The argument was that the bill was rising unsustainably, and the National Audit Office (NAO) has raised a similar warning about ECHPs. The number of EHCPs soared by 150 per cent to 576,000 between 2015 and 2024, with the NAO estimating it could top 1 million by 2033. What have campaigners said? A letter to The Guardian on Monday signed by dozens of special needs groups said 'every sign from the government suggests the right to an ECHP is to be removed from children attending mainstream schools'. 'Whatever the Send system's problems, the answer is not to remove the rights of children and young people,' the letter said. It said removing ECHPs would not make young people's needs magically vanish, but would increase applications for already overcrowded special schools or force children out of school altogether. What have MPs said? One Labour MP preparing to rebel told The Independent that backbenchers are gearing up for a similar fight over ECHPs to the battle they fought over cuts to Pip. 'They have built strong relationships with Send campaigners, if they are now being told this is a betrayal, they will push back against any cuts,' the MP warned. Another was quoted in The Times as saying: 'If they thought taking money away from disabled adults was bad, watch what happens when they try the same with disabled kids.' When will the changes become clear? The government is expected to publish a white paper detailing its reforms to Send education in the autumn. It means that ministers have a chance to ensure they get any reforms right, and get backbenchers onside, in order to stave off any potential rebellion over the changes. But the long delay also means disability campaigners will have all summer to get in the ears of MPs, and that rebellious Labour parliamentarians will have plenty of time to plan a revolt. Ultimately, the reforms will represent a test of how well Sir Keir has listened and learned from previous handling of politically sensitive changes that make Labour MPs uneasy. Any changes will stand or fall on whether he has done the necessary outreach to MPs from across the party and the relevant campaign groups lobbying them. If not, he faces returning from the summer holiday to exactly the same problems he left behind.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
SEND assessment delay 'prolonged injustice' for mum
"Significant delays" by a council in assessing a child's special educational needs caused his mother "prolonged injustice", a government watchdog has ruled. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ordered Slough Borough Council to pay her £1,000 for delays and lack of communication. Its report said the council's faults had caused her "significant distress and frustration". The council said it acknowledged the findings of the report and had complied with all of its recommendations. The mother, named as Ms X in the ombudsman's report, asked the council to update her son B's education health and care plan (EHCP) in March 2024. This is a legal document reviewed annually that sets out what a council has to do to meet a child's special educational needs. She wanted the council to update B's EHCP with information from a private occupational therapist's assessment she had sourced, and asked if it could reimburse her for the cost. Ms X then complained "shortly after" about the time the council had taken to update B's EHCP after a review in October 2023, and asked for a personal budget to pay for his occupational therapy. The council replied that B's annual review would take place in April, that she could discuss a personal budget then, and that it might need to take 14 weeks to reassess his needs. The council also said it had "not yet decided" whether to reimburse Ms X for the private occupational therapist's assessment. B's annual review took place in April and the council wrote to Ms X in June saying it had prepared an amended plan, that it would reimburse her for the occupational therapist's assessment and reassess B's needs. In response to her complaint, Slough Borough Council said it would consider her request for a personal budget. It accepted there had been delays in updating B's plan and securing a decision around the private occupational therapist funding. When the council did issue an updated ECHP in September 2024 the reassessment had still not taken place – and was ongoing at the time of the ombudsman's decision in March this year. The council 'said waiting for the outcome of the private OT's review, had delayed this consideration'. The ombudsman ruled this delay was "especially severe" and the the council should pay Ms X £750. In addition, the ombudsman said there was a "lack of communication! from the council in explaining its decision whether to award Ms X a personal budget, and that there was a delay in deciding whether to reimburse her for the private assessment. It said the council should pay Ms X a further £250 for these. The council said: "We are conscious of historic failings and delays within parts of our SEND service and recognise the impact this has had on some families. "In response, we have taken clear steps to strengthen the service — including increasing staffing capacity, improving oversight, and ensuring Education, Health, and Care (EHC) needs assessments are completed in a more timely and consistent way." It added: "We remain committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and to working closely with families to provide the support they need." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Authority to pay £11,750 over special needs case Council to pay £6,500 after failing autistic child SEND delay 'horrible' for boy, 11 Mother awarded £9,400 over education battle for son Slough Borough Council Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Nigel Farage clashes with charities as he claims GPs are 'massively overdiagnosing' children with special educational needs and disabilities
Nigel Farage clashed with charities today as he claimed family doctors are 'massively over-diagnosing' children with special educational needs and disabilities. Ahead of next week's local elections, the Reform UK leader said there was a 'massive problem' among councils due to soaring demand for SEND services. Data has shown how the number of school pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England rose by 180,000 - or 71 per cent - between 2018 and 2024. As a result, nearly 5 per cent of pupils now have EHCPs - a legal document that sets out what support a child or young person needs. Meanwhile, in 2023/24 there were 1.24 million pupils in England with special educational needs support but without an ECHP - almost 14 per cent of pupils. SEND funding in England is not allocated as a separate amount per pupil but is instead part of the overall 'dedicated schools grant' allocated to each local authority. Council leaders have warned they are facing 'unmanageable' SEND deficits, which has left many town halls facing bankruptcy over the coming years. Parliament's spending watchdog has also criticised the 'chaotic' system for accessing SEND support in damning report earlier this year. A wide variation in waiting times for EHCPs across the country has been branded a 'postcode lottery'. During a press conference in Dover, Kent, Mr Farage bemoaned an overdiagnosis of 'those with mental illness problems and... other general behavioural disabilities'. The Reform leader said: 'So many of these diagnoses - for SEND before 18, for disability register after 18 – so many of these have been conducted on Zoom, with the family GP. I think that is a massive mistake. 'If I'm your family GP, and I've known your family for generations, and you're saying to me 'doc, there's a real problem here with depression, or whatever it may be', it's quite hard for me as your GP to say no. 'So I don't think any of these allocations should be done by family GPs. I think they should be done independently. 'I think we are massively – I'm not being heartless here, I'm being frank – I think we are massively over-diagnosing those with mental illness problems and those with other general behavioural disabilities. 'And I think we're creating class of victims in Britain who will struggle ever to get out of it. That's not good for them and it's not good for us, so I worry about those things. 'I do accept though, I do accept that repeated lockdowns - particularly the third lockdown - were probably the biggest mistakes ever made by a peacetime government in this country. And they have caused great long-term harm.' Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, criticised Mr Farage's comments as 'wildly inaccurate'. She said the Reform leader's remarks 'show that he's completely out of touch with what autistic children and adults have to go through to get a diagnosis or any support at all'. 'For the record, absolutely no one has got an autism diagnosis through the GP – this is just incorrect, wrong, fake news,' she added. 'Children with SEND and disabled adults, including autistic people, are not victims who are being 'over diagnosed'. 'They are people who face huge delays and long fights to get the most basic support across every aspect of their lives, including diagnosis, education, health and social care. 'Spreading misinformation only perpetuates stigma and makes life harder. 'We're calling on all politicians to drop the political point scoring and stand up for their autistic and other disabled constituents.' Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson, her party's education spokesperson, said: 'Farage is clearly laying the groundwork to axe crucial special needs provision in councils he's got his eye on - communities where families and vulnerable young people are already waiting years to access threadbare special needs funds and special schools bursting at the seams. 'If Nigel Farage had spent any time speaking to parents in his constituency, he'd know he's barking up the wrong tree. 'The special needs crisis needs urgent repair - not his lazy rhetoric. We need a national body for SEND to end the special needs postcode lottery now.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School admissions changes to go before councillors
Proposed changes to secondary school admissions across Brighton and Hove are due to go before councillors next week. Brighton & Hove City Council wants to reduce the intake at three secondary schools, introduce an open admission policy and increase the number of preferences that families can make. While the original proposal was to allocate 20% of places for pupils who live in single school catchment areas, this drops to 5% in the modified plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. An eight-week public consultation in December and January received almost 4,000 responses, while concerned parents staged a protest last month. Five per cent open admission for pupils from single-school catchment areas Reduce the intake in year 7 by one class or 30 pupils at Blatchington Mill and Dorothy Stringer, and by two classes at Longhill Offer four choices rather than three when applying for secondary school Give priority to children eligible for free school meals up to 30% of admissions Move part of Whitehawk into the Dorothy Stringer and Varndean catchment area and Kemp Town into the Longhill catchment area The open admissions policy would give children living in four secondary school catchments – BACA, PACA, Longhill and Patcham High – a better change of a place at schools such as Stringer, Varndean, Blatchington Mill and Hove Park. Deputy council leader Jacob Taylor said the recommendations had been "shaped by the responses we received during the consultation stage". Separately both Brighton MPs have raised concerns about the impact on children with SEND, particularly those without an education, health and care plan (ECHP). Chris Ward, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, is concerned that the current catchment proposals "could result in some children with SEND having to travel a long way and potentially via multiple forms of transport" to go to school. The proposals will go before councillors on 27 February. Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Parents protest over school intake changes Consultation on school changes to be discussed Brighton & Hove City Council Local Democracy Reporting Service
