By Eniola Amadu
The UK Government will face an additional £3bn annual bill for supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England by 2029 unless reforms are introduced, according to new analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The study warns that current trends, driven by a sharp increase in the number of children receiving support, could place unsustainable pressure on councils already struggling with large deficits.
SEND’s spending this year stands at £12bn, up 66 per cent over the past decade. The IFS projects that a further 220,000 children will have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) by 2029, taking the total to around 8 per cent of all pupils.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson described the report as “further evidence of the broken SEND system this government inherited”.
Education minister Georgia Gould has pledged that families will retain a “legal right to additional support”, while ministers prepare reforms aimed at improving early intervention and mainstream provision.
Currently, mainstream schools are expected to cover the first £6,000 of SEND support, with councils responsible for higher costs.
However, the rising demand has left many authorities with mounting debts, forecast to reach £5bn next year.
Amanda Hopgood of the Local Government Association called for this debt to be written off, arguing that outdated legislation left councils with “unsustainable costs”.
Parents and campaigners warn that the system is leaving children behind.
Angela Mawer, guardian to seven-year-old Colby, said she felt she had “won the lottery” in finding him a mainstream place with tailored support at Littlecoates Primary Academy’s Launchpad unit in Grimsby. “There isn’t enough provision for children like Colby,” she said.
The Launchpad model, which provides temporary specialist support within mainstream schools, has helped children such as Colby and seven-year-old Finley make significant progress.
Finley’s mother, Claire, described her son’s integration into a Year 2 class as something she “didn’t dare to dream could happen”.
Despite this, parents and teachers caution that many mainstream schools lack the funding and training to meet pupils’ needs effectively.
“Some of the children they’re putting in mainstream classrooms, they’re setting them up to fail on a daily basis,” said Launchpad lead Kate Cowdroy.
The Association of School and College Leaders described the report’s findings as “truly shocking”, arguing that despite increased funding the system was still failing to meet children’s needs.
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson accused the government of pushing councils “to the brink” while “vulnerable young people are being set up to fail”.
