Fewer than half of all decisions on whether to issue an education, health and care plan were completed within the statutory 20-week timeframe in 2024, new government data has revealed.
In total, just 46.4 per cent of decisions were made within the 20-week window, down from 50.3 per cent in 2023.
Furthermore, 7.3 per cent of EHCPs were only issued after 52 weeks - an increase from 5.2 per cent last year. The remaining 46.3 per cent were issued between 20 and 52 weeks.
These figures all relate to EHCPs to which no exceptions applied and mark yet another decline in the ability of authorities to make decisions within the given timeframe.
Despite this slowdown, the number of EHCPs issued in 2024 increased to 97,747 - up 15.8 per cent on 2023.
This has been driven by yet another notable rise in requests, with 154,489 made in 2024, up almost 12 per cent on 2023 when 138,242 were made.
Overall, the increase means there are now 638,745 EHCPs active in the system, a figure that includes both school-age and non-school-age recipients.
The number of children in schools with an EHCP increased by 11 per cent from 434,354 to 482,640, according to data released earlier this month.
Types of need vary by age
Autistic spectrum disorder remains by far and away the most common type of need, followed by speech, language and communication needs, then social, emotional and mental health. The table below shows the 10 most common EHCP needs.
However, there are some variations by age according to the government data. At age 5, the most common needs are speech, language and communication needs, accounting for 14,300 EHCPs, followed by autistic spectrum disorder with 10,300 plans.
But by age 15 the picture has changed: autistic spectrum disorder is the most common with 13,700 EHCPs, followed by social, emotional and mental health needs with 13,300 EHCPs.
Meanwhile, most EHCPs are requested at ages 3 and 4 (18,224 and 17,499, respectively), with the number rising again at age 10 (14,602 requests). Almost twice as many of these requests are made for boys (64.3 per cent) as girls (35.7 per cent).
‘Unsustainable’ system
Margaret Mulholland, SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was “worrying” that so many EHCPs were not being issued within the 20-week statutory timeframe.
“This will undoubtedly be causing distress for children and families missing out on much-needed support as a result of these delays,” she said.
“These figures clearly demonstrate that the current system is unsustainable. Whatever role EHCPs will play in the future, and we know this is something currently being reviewed by the government, any new system must be backed with sufficient funding to enable all children to get the support they need in a timely fashion.”
The fact that the time taken to issue EHCPs - alongside the number being requested - has increased again will likely add weight to the government’s work considering whether EHCPs are “the right vehicle” for delivering provision for pupils with SEND, which Tes revealed last month.
Furthermore, the recent Spending Review also confirmed that reforms of the SEND system would be part of a Schools White Paper due to be published in the autumn and so may feature a shake-up to the EHCP system.
Schools are ‘footing the bill’
Simon Tanner, national director of SEND at E-ACT, said the delays to decisions meant schools were “footing the bill” to provide support - or pupils are “left waiting for the correct support to be delivered”. As such, he said, it is clear things have to change.
“The system is unsustainable and heading quickly to meltdown,” he told Tes.
“Urgent action is required otherwise the system will crash, leaving thousands of children without support with schools stretched at both targeted and universal levels.”
He said the fact that so many plans are being issued for children aged 5 due to speech, language, and communication needs (14,300 plans) underlined the need for schools to receive more support in this area - an issue Tes has recently investigated.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the government had “inherited a SEND system on its knees”.
“At the heart of these figures are families fighting for support that should just be readily available,” she added. “Too many children are not having their needs identified at an early enough stage, creating a vicious cycle of overwhelmed local services and children’s support needs escalating to crisis point.”
The government has invested £740 million in creating more places for children with SEND in mainstream schools and will set out full reforms in the autumn.
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