Parents of children with special needs say they are relieved that the government’s long-awaited overhaul will avoid significant disruption for their families – but told the Guardian they fear getting help will remain a struggle.
Becky, whose son Kyllian has a number of disabilities including cerebral palsy and is registered blind, said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the changes in England announced by Bridget Phillipson, and immediate relief that her son wouldn’t have to move from his special school.
“I was worried they would shift the criteria and we’d be back at square one fighting for everything again … I have a little bit more hope this time, I suppose, than with previous governments because they’ve actually done parent consultations,” she said.
But Becky said the emphasis of the changes appeared to be for children who could go to mainstream schools. “It’s great that they’re moving towards inclusivity but there wasn’t a lot said to address children with more complex needs and physical disabilities, like my son,” she said.
The plans include improving inclusion for children with special needs within mainstream schools, and new restrictions to qualify for the highest tier of support, an education, health and care plan (EHCP), from 2030, although children in special schools such as Kyllian will retain their EHCPs.
The government forecasts that about one in eight children with EHCPs will be shifted to new individual support plans or ISPs between 2030 and 2035, while those granted EHCPs after 2030 will have less say over school choices and fewer avenues for appeal.
Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, said: “Limiting EHCPs to only those with the most complex needs relies heavily on mainstream schools becoming genuinely inclusive, yet much of the detail on how to achieve this remains undefined and none of it has been proven to work at scale.
“We need to see tangible evidence of improvement before any attempt is made to change or remove existing rights and protections.”
May Race has a 12-year-old son, Joseph, with autism, ADHD and dyslexia diagnoses, who has been off school for more than a year. Despite obtaining an EHCP, he has been unable to access the support he needs.
May said she didn’t believe that he or many other neurodivergent children would benefit from the changes because “he has really struggled in the mainstream”. She added: “There’s been no acknowledgment that some children are unable to be in school, which is often due to the trauma caused by the failing system.”
Jane Harris, chief executive of Speech and Language UK, which represents children with conditions such as developmental language disorder, said the overhaul was “a bold vision” that could transform education for many children.
But Harris warned: “Families and young people with the most significant speech and language challenges urgently need clarity on what this means in practice – who will qualify for an EHCP, and how the government will guarantee access to places in specialist bases and special schools for those who need them.”
Cheryl Garner’s daughter is non-verbal autistic, and requires one-to-one support and a highly tailored curriculum, as well as speech and language therapy and sensory regulation support. “Every school in our local area said they could not meet her needs,” Garner said, meaning that she studies 50 miles away from home.
Garner welcomed the white paper’s proposal that EHCPs be retained by children with the most complex needs, such as her daughter, but feared the criteria could shift in the proposals’ implementation. “If the government truly intends to protect children with the most complex needs, then that protection must be explicit, legally secure and enforceable,” she said.
