Latest news with #Send
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Assessing special needs in Essex 'continues to be a challenge'
Assessments of children for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) by a county council "continues to be a challenge given the high volume", a new report has than one in four education health and care plans (EHCPs) were completed by Essex County Council within the 20-week target, according to data for is an improvement compared with March 2024, when 0.6% were carried out within the legal time frame - which was the worst completion rate of any local authority in Nye from Witham, who has a child with an ECHP, said it was "appalling" that more than three-quarters of these children "remain failed". Geoff Hurst has Essex school named after himEssex County Council receives between 300 and 400 requests for an EHCP every month. As of March, the authority was responsible for 14,581 young people who required extra support for has been an increase of 1,221 children with an ECHP in Essex in the space of a year, according to figures from a corporate performance report for the start of 2025, 587 EHCP assessments have been completed, but they have taken on average 346 days to complete, according to the report. More than 3,000 applications are currently being county council says it has invested £1m to increase the number of educational psychologists to work on Ball, Conservative cabinet member for education, said: "We have been open about the ongoing work to improve the local Send system and are seeing the results of the changes we have made." 'Piecemeal service' But Kim Mayhead, who runs a special educational needs advice and support group for Essex families on Facebook, argued: "There's not enough funding. "We are a huge county and we are running a piecemeal service."I've been in this world of Send with my son for 25 years. It has got worse year on year."The report, which will be discussed at county hall on Thursday, notes that artificial intelligence is being used in producing the first draft of an EHCP - which is saving two hours per has also been a rise in the number of children who are home educated in the Essex county area, which stood at 4,333 during the first three months of report forecasts there will be 4,800 to 5,000 home educated children by the end of the academic year in has been "a significant increase" in children missing education, 570 as of early 2025 and a rise of 23% in a year, the report added: "Success can only truly be measured in terms of families' experiences and we won't stop until all families benefit." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
North Wales Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Specialist teams to tackle post-pandemic school speech therapy backlog
It is hoped earlier targeted support will help those who struggle to talk and understand words before problems escalate. More than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or more for speech and language therapy as of June 2024, the Department for Education said. A lack of early identification can have a devastating impact on children's social skills, attendance, and academic performance. The Government has backed the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme with £3.4 million funding this year, which it said will benefit up to 20,000 more children. Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), as numbers have skyrocketed from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring extra help with speech and language. Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: 'When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children's attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances. 'Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family. 'This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents' trust in a system which has let them down for too long.' Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: 'We're delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026. 'It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children's needs earlier and put timely support in place.'
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Specialist teams to tackle post-pandemic school speech therapy backlog
The Government will deploy specialist teams to primary schools to tackle the backlog of children waiting for speech and language therapy since the pandemic. It is hoped earlier targeted support will help those who struggle to talk and understand words before problems escalate. More than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or more for speech and language therapy as of June 2024, the Department for Education said. A lack of early identification can have a devastating impact on children's social skills, attendance, and academic performance. The Government has backed the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme with £3.4 million funding this year, which it said will benefit up to 20,000 more children. Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), as numbers have skyrocketed from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring extra help with speech and language. Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: 'When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children's attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances. 'Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family. 'This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents' trust in a system which has let them down for too long.' Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: 'We're delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026. 'It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children's needs earlier and put timely support in place.'
Rhyl Journal
23-05-2025
- Health
- Rhyl Journal
Specialist teams to tackle post-pandemic school speech therapy backlog
It is hoped earlier targeted support will help those who struggle to talk and understand words before problems escalate. More than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or more for speech and language therapy as of June 2024, the Department for Education said. A lack of early identification can have a devastating impact on children's social skills, attendance, and academic performance. The Government has backed the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme with £3.4 million funding this year, which it said will benefit up to 20,000 more children. Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), as numbers have skyrocketed from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring extra help with speech and language. Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: 'When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children's attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances. 'Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family. 'This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents' trust in a system which has let them down for too long.' Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: 'We're delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026. 'It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children's needs earlier and put timely support in place.'
Glasgow Times
23-05-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Specialist teams to tackle post-pandemic school speech therapy backlog
It is hoped earlier targeted support will help those who struggle to talk and understand words before problems escalate. More than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or more for speech and language therapy as of June 2024, the Department for Education said. A lack of early identification can have a devastating impact on children's social skills, attendance, and academic performance. The Government has backed the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme with £3.4 million funding this year, which it said will benefit up to 20,000 more children. Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), as numbers have skyrocketed from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring extra help with speech and language. Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: 'When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children's attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances. 'Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family. 'This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents' trust in a system which has let them down for too long.' Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: 'We're delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026. 'It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children's needs earlier and put timely support in place.'
