The system set up to support children in England who have special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is in “utter disarray” and requires a complete overhaul, the local government ombudsman (LGO) has said.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amerdeep Somal, whose role is to investigate complaints about council services including Send, said: “The system is simply not working for children, families or local authorities.
“The money available is not sufficient to provide the services that children are entitled to. It means young people, and their families, don’t get the help they need and lose vital weeks, months and years of education and development as a result.”
She said social workers are overwhelmed, with caseloads upwards of 250 children in some instances. There are not enough educational psychologists and, in many areas, suitable and affordable support does not exist. “No one wins in the current system,” she said.
Somal’s intervention comes days after councils warned of a looming £5bn debt crisis caused by out-of-control overspending on Send services, which threatens to bankrupt scores of England’s local authorities.
It also follows the publication of the annual review of local government complaints that showed LGO casework is now dominated by complaints about special educational needs provision.
Education complaints made up more than a quarter (26%) of all complaints received by the LGO in 2023–24, far outweighing complaints about housing (16%), adult care (14%) or highways (12%). There were fewer than 3,000 housing complaints, compared with more than 4,600 about education.
They also made up 42% of all cases upheld by the LGO. Families making complaints about Send have a remarkably high success rate. Somal’s team found fault in 92% of the education cases investigated, and numbers are increasing rapidly.
Somal has a strong interest in Send issues after working as a tribunal judge, adjudicating in such cases. “That gave me a real insight into the particular challenges which parents, children, schools and local authorities have in this space.”
After six months in her new post, she is deeply concerned not only about the rising number of complaints, but also the long delays by councils in implementing the LGO’s recommendations once a complaint has been investigated. She is, however, sympathetic to councils that simply don’t have the resources.
“We know, from the thousands of investigations we carry out each year, the staggering rate at which they are increasing and the rapidly rising proportion we uphold, that the Send system is in utter disarray.
“We uphold nine out of 10 investigations, and behind each one is a child or young person, and their family, who have been let down by a system which should be supporting them to achieve their fullest potential.
“Where we find fault with a local authority, we will ask them to improve their services, processes or staff training. But we know these improvements will only chip away at the edges of the issue, because the whole system that local authorities operate in needs overhauling.”
The crisis has been 10 years in the making, said Somal. “Both councils and the then government should have anticipated the issues, and planned for the future, when the Children and Families Act 2014 was brought in and demand for education, health and care plans [for children with the greatest Send needs] started to increase.
“The staff needed for councils to fulfil their duties, including highly specialist roles like educational psychologists, can not be trained overnight, and so this situation will not be resolved without significant reform on a national scale.”
One LGO investigation in Surrey uncovered a backlog of 1,000 EHCP needs assessments, with one girl waiting nine months for a plan to be issued. In Suffolk, a pupil was out of education for 18 months because of similar delays while, in Northamptonshire, one teenager lost two years of education because the council failed to put in place a learning-support assistant.
Somal called on the government to launch a root and branch review of the system, and put in place sufficient resources. “There needs to be a strong and comprehensive grip of this issue, right from reviewing the 2014 legislation through to ensuring the resources are in place, and retained, to support children how and when they need it.
“Special educational needs provision is an existential threat for the local authorities that provide children’s services and, most importantly, affects the lives of thousands of children having long-term effects on their aspirations and contributions to society.”
The school standards minister Catherine McKinnell said: “We are committed to improving inclusivity, expertise and the capacity within mainstream schools, as well as making sure special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
“There is no ‘magic wand’ to fix these deep-rooted issues immediately, but we have already started and will act as quickly as possible to ensure that every child gets the best start in life.”
