Ofsted’s head inspector told that assistance delays for children with special educational needs in England are an “urgent matter of concern.”
The regulator stated that half of the local authorities evaluated during the previous school year showed “serious shortcomings” in their special needs offering.
According to Ofsted’s annual report, staff shortages are impeding the education of youngsters post-pandemic.
The Department of Education stated that improvement measures will be outlined in 2023.
The forthcoming annual report from Ofsted examines inspections conducted over the previous academic year across children’s social care and education establishments.
More than half of the local authorities evaluated by the regulator were obliged to prepare a written declaration of action in response to “serious shortcomings” in their provision for special needs.
“Childhood is brief”
In England, about 1.5 million students are officially recognized as having special educational needs or impairments, a rise of nearly 77,000 from the previous year.
Approximately 355,000 have an education, health, and care (EHC) plan. These plans are legally binding papers that ensure children with the most complicated needs receive the appropriate assistance.
When a school or parent applies for an EHC plan, it should take local governments no more than 20 weeks to decide whether to provide one.
Ofsted reports that barely 60% of EHC plans are issued within the 20-week timeframe. Twenty local governments are especially tardy, with only one-third of plans published in that time.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector for Ofsted, told that these delays were her “most concern.”
“Childhood is fleeting. “The sooner a child’s serious problems are identified and the sooner the appropriate help is in place, the greater the likelihood that these problems will have a minimal impact on the child’s education and adult life,” she said.
“A timely response is the most important factor for me.”
Abi Horsfield’s initial request for an EHC plan for her son Casey was denied, despite Casey’s Autism spectrum illness and Dyslexia diagnoses. She reapplied and was ultimately successful, but it took around eight months for the procedure to conclude.
Abi described the experience as “very painful and quite emotional.”
“When you receive a rejection letter, it explicitly specifies that you’re on your own as a parent; even if the school applied originally, it’s up to you to move the application forward.
“The process must be more user-friendly, and assistance should be available to every youngster who requires it.”
Ms. Spielman stated that since the epidemic, the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system has struggled to meet the increased demand.
Backlogs and delays have accumulated. It is difficult to evaluate youngsters and to provide them with the appropriate specialized assistance, she told.
“Families are becoming increasingly frustrated, and some are turning to private assessment.” When it comes to speech therapy, for example, schools will occasionally use their funds to fill funding shortfalls. Currently, a large number of people are dissatisfied with the system.”
Beginning in January 2019, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission will begin inspecting special needs provisions in local communities differently. Ms. Spielman stated that a greater emphasis will be placed on the experiences of children and young people “so that there is no ambiguity resulting from these inspections regarding who is responsible for making improvements.”
Early next year, according to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, the government will unveil new proposals to enhance the SEND system.
Next year, the Department of Education will invest £400 million in high-needs budgets.
A spokeswoman added, “We are supporting up to 5,000 new early years special educational needs coordinators and allocating over £30 million to train 600 new educational psychologists who assist in the creation of education, health, and care plans.
