5 days ago
Ministers fail to rule out scrapping school plans for Send pupils despite campaigners' concerns
MPs have voiced alarm at the prospect of ending educational plans for children with special educational needs, as Political Reporter Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe explains
Ministers have not ruled out scrapping education plans for children with special educational needs, sparking further worry among campaigners, parents and MPs.
Education Minister Stephen Morgan attempted to quell concerns by saying the government will work to "build confidence with parents to make sure they trust the system and children get the right support in the right place."
However, he could not guarantee that education, health and care plans (EHCPs) - which are currently issued to give children specialist classroom support - would remain in place.
It comes after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson failed to rule out scrapping EHCPs over the weekend.
In a letter shared with the Guardian newspaper, campaigners say that without EHCPs in mainstream schools, 'many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision, or losing access to education altogether'.
The education minister sidestepped the question when asked on Monday if the support plans will be abandoned.
He told ITV News: "We're working really hard listening to experts, to MPs, and others to get this system right for the future.
"It's really clear from the conversations I have when I visit schools and nurseries that early identification and intervention on Send makes a big difference."
When pressed again on the EHCP rumours, he replied: "I'm not going to get into the metrics today, obviously a review is underway. We'll be publishing a white paper later this year."
He added that the government has put £1 billion extra into Send support, as well as additional support for places in mainstream settings, as the government announced its new Early Years Strategy on Monday.
An EHCP is a legally binding document that must be followed by local authorities and schools, which outlines the required support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
A spokesperson for the Save Our Children's Rights campaign, who contributed to the letter, called on the government for transparency around the EHCP plans and said the rumours of them being scrapped are "really worrying".
Catriona Moore pointed to the government's plans to have more children with special educational needs attending mainstream schools.
"The only way that's going to work is if they have very clearly defined support and obviously the resources to make that happen," Ms Moore told ITV News.
"The fact that ministers have allowed rumours and speculation to dominate this conversation is really upsetting for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities who already have to fight so hard to get what their children need."
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On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson would also not be drawn on whether the plans will be retained.
'What I can say very clearly is that we will strengthen and put in place better support for children,' she told the BBC.
Requests for Send support have risen year-on-year. In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025 - up 10.8% on the same point last year.
The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747.
Requests for children to be assessed for EHCPs rose by 11.8% to 154,489 in 2024.
The concerns come amid mounting pressure and another potential rebellion from backbenchers - following the staunch opposition from Labour MPs against the welfare reforms - to scrap the two-child benefit cap, which critics argue is one of the main drivers for keeping children in poverty.
Director of Policy at Child Poverty Action Group, Sara Ogilvie, told ITV News that the government must consider the impact these plans could have on families already struggling to make ends meet.
"There is a huge intersection between families who have got someone living in the household with a disability, families where there's a child with a special educational needs, and families in poverty," she said.
"The government needs to think about all these issues in the round. If there's an approach that sees these as competing priorities rather than all things working towards the same ambition to give every child the best start in life, then it's not going to make kind of progress it wants."
Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: 'The Send system urgently needs fixing, but ministers mustn't use that as an excuse to balance the books on the backs of disabled children.
'The government is ignoring the concerns of special needs families and campaigners, and is in serious danger of sleepwalking into another crisis – just like they did with the welfare Bill.
'Bridget Phillipson must listen to those concerns and come up with a proper solution that protects the most vulnerable in our communities, rather than throwing their support out the window.'
