The Department for Education says the previous government created special-school places for pupils whose needs could reasonably be met in mainstream schools.
In a to the Commons Education Select Committee’s inquiry Solving the SEND Crisis, the department says that the Conservative government’s did not “commit clearly enough to an inclusive mainstream system or look hard enough at wider barriers and levers, including incentives on schools”.
It adds: “There were mixed messages about the balance between driving truly inclusive mainstream practice and creating very large numbers of new special-school places, including for needs that could reasonably be met in mainstream schools.”
Last year Labour schools minister Catherine McKinnell highlighted findings from the government’s Delivering Better Value programme that tens of thousands of pupils could have their needs met without an education, health and care plan (EHCP) and in a mainstream school, rather than a specialist setting, if the system was improved.
SEND: Most special schools are over capacity
The DfE’s report to the select committee says that around 63 per cent of special schools are at or over capacity - with 52 per cent over. It adds that schools that are over capacity have, on average, around 12 per cent more pupils than reported capacity.
The criticism of the previous government’s SEND and alternative provision improvement plan echoes comments made by the DfE’s permanent secretary, Susan Acland-Hood, in November last year, when she told MPs that it had not gone far enough to promote inclusion.
The DfE’s response to the Solving the SEND Crisis inquiry highlights the steps that the Labour government is taking to promote inclusion, including appointing academy trust CEO Tom Rees as chair of an expert advisory group.
It has also appointed Dame Christine Lenehan as a strategic SEND adviser. Yesterday she told Tes that the government is considering whether EHCPs are “the right vehicle” for supporting the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The DfE’s submission to the committee says that too many families go through a protracted process to access SEND provision.
It notes that the time it takes for EHCPs to be issued has increased. In 2019, 60 per cent were issued within 20 weeks, but this figure had dropped to 50 per cent by 2023.
Safety Valve deals ‘not effective’
The submission also warns that the previous government’s Safety Valve programme - in which councils with high SEND spending deficits receive funding and then work to bring down these deficits - had “not been effective enough across the board, given the scale of the challenge”.
The government recently said that it is aiming to produce a fully costed plan to improve the system for pupils with SEND by April next year.
In a separate to a Commons Public Accounts Committee report on the SEND crisis, the DfE said that it aims to announce plans for dealing with council SEND deficits this summer and its vision for inclusive education in schools by the end of the year.
There is currently a statutory override in place that keeps councils’ high-needs deficits off their books, but this is due to expire next year. There have been warnings that around two in five councils could be forced to declare effective bankruptcy unless this override is extended or a solution is found.
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