The Conservative government鈥檚 SEND improvement plan 鈥渄id not go far enough鈥 to resolve the major issues in the special needs system, the new government has said. In a 17,000-word response to the education committee鈥檚 , Department for Education officials tore through the reforms 鈥 which were three years in the making. They said they did not look hard enough鈥 at wider barriers and 鈥減erverse鈥 incentives to more inclusive schools. Their submission gives a further insight into the government鈥檚 thinking on where its own special needs reforms 鈥 due to be outlined this year 鈥 will end up. It also reveals concerns that special needs provision will not be protected as more councils predict bankruptcies and pupils in overcrowded special schools get worse GCSE results. Plan 鈥榙id not go far enough鈥 The previous government鈥檚 SEND improvement plan 鈥 which took three years to draw up and cost 拢70 million to test 鈥 鈥渄id not go far enough鈥, Labour has said. The plan was billed as setting out 鈥渟ystemic reforms鈥 that would ensure 鈥渆very child gets the help they need鈥. But Labour鈥檚 submission to MPs picks apart many aspects of the plan, concluding: 鈥淥verall, it did not take a fundamental look at the underpinnings of the system that had caused the challenges in the first place, but sought to address the problems within that system.鈥 鈥楧idn鈥檛 look hard enough at inclusion barriers鈥 The plan 鈥渄id not commit clearly enough to an inclusive mainstream system, or look hard enough at wider barriers鈥. There were 鈥渕ixed messages鈥 about driving inclusion while creating 鈥渧ery large numbers鈥 of new special school places. Schools also believed the reforms 鈥渃ontinued to rely on a model that looked only at individual needs, and made it hard to provide support for cohorts or groups of children 鈥 which they believed could be done more efficiently and effectively鈥, officials said. Meanwhile, the plan 鈥渄id not address perverse incentives in things like the accountability framework that could discourage inclusion鈥. Councils told the government the plan asked them to 鈥渢ake responsibility鈥 for a 鈥渕uch better and more consistent offer鈥 for pupils with additional needs 鈥渨ithout the levers to deliver it鈥. And parents 鈥渨orried鈥 reforms 鈥渋mplied a reduction in the guaranteed support offered by EHCPs without enough clarity on what would be offered instead鈥. 拢1bn safety-valve bailouts 鈥榥ot effective enough鈥… Another key intervention was the safety-valve scheme. Councils with huge deficits on their SEND budgets were promised multi-year bailouts totalling 拢1 billion 鈥 in return for strict cost-saving measures. But Labour has stopped new entrants to the scheme. Five agreements are also suspended, likely because councils have fallen behind on cuts. The government said the scheme has 鈥渘ot been effective enough across the board given the scale of the challenge鈥. A lessons-learned report is due to be published this month. …concern over SEND hit from council bankruptcy Provision for special needs funding mostly comes from the dedicated and ring-fenced schools grant, which would not be directly impacted should a council issue a section 114 notice (which means it is effectively bankrupt). But the government said councils 鈥渕ay have to reduce spend on any discretionary elements, like early intervention and preventative services鈥 from non-ring-fenced budgets. Such savings could 鈥渁lso adversely affect wider support functions such as workforce and home-to-school transport, putting the quality and/or effectiveness of SEND provision at risk, as well as wider impacts beyond education and high-needs鈥. Six top-tier councils have issued section 114 notices since 2020. They are not named, but in November 2021 Slough was found to have 鈥渟ignificant concerns鈥 over its SEND provision, a year after it issued a section 114. Officials said they would provide support to 鈥渉elp mitigate鈥 drops in provision in such cases. But the outlook is bleak, with half of councils warning they are likely to issue a section 114 notice in the next five years, a poll for the Local Government Information Unit last year found. 鈥榃ill build on鈥 拢70m Change programme The improvement plan included 拢70 million to trial reforms under the Change programme. This included proposals for standardised EHCP templates, strengthened mediation, and multi-agency panels for plans. But while criticising the reforms, officials are still 鈥渃onsidering how we can build on this鈥. The scheme was also helping officials 鈥渟pot and address unintended consequences created by how the reforms interact together. Evidence will inform any future decision to legislate to require the whole system to deliver these changes.鈥 Lower GCSEs in 鈥榦vercrowded鈥 schools鈥 The submission outlined 鈥渟ome evidence that pupils in overcrowded settings 鈥 special or mainstream 鈥 typically have lower attainment鈥, estimated as the equivalent of a two-percentage point reduction. However, the government said it has not tested this against current special school attainment and capacity data. Nearly two thirds of special schools are at or over capacity. Overcrowded schools have about 12 per cent more pupils than reported capacity. The DfE did not respond to a request for comment. One in 14 schools has a SEND unit To increase capacity, the government is encouraging mainstream schools and councils to set up resourced provision and SEN units. However, data shows just one in 14 schools nationally has one. There is also a big variability: one in seven secondaries has such provision, compared with one in 14 primaries. The government also said some councils have no schools with SEN units, while other areas have one in every four schools. But officials said they are keen to 鈥渟cale up鈥 best practice and 鈥渨ork with the sector to extend this across the system, including how SEN units and resourced provision can promote greater inclusion鈥. 鈥楴o quick fixes鈥 and 鈥榤ore money not always the answer鈥欌 Officials said it was time for 鈥渂old reform鈥, with a white paper due this year. The government will focus on making mainstream schools more inclusive and early identification of SEND. But there are 鈥渘o quick fixes鈥, with officials taking 鈥渁 considered approach to deliver sustainable system reform鈥. The high-needs budget 鈥 which funds provision for pupils with additional needs 鈥 has risen 拢4 billion (up 60 per cent) from 2019 to 2024, but has still not kept pace with rising demand. Councils have an estimated 拢3.3 billion deficit in their high-needs budgets, which is expected to keep rising. But the government鈥檚 submission said 鈥渕ore money is not always the answer (or an option)鈥 given the 鈥渃urrent fiscal challenges鈥. 鈥淲hat matters is how the money is spent, and what behaviours we are incentivising鈥 In a steady state system, we should focus much more on how money is better spent to support an inclusive mainstream educational system, which meets children鈥檚 needs and means that parents will no longer have to resort to highly individualised plans to support their children鈥檚 needs.鈥 鈥ut (a reminder) of just how bad things are The submission highlights how broken the SEND system is The number of EHCP pupils in private SEND schools 鈥 which cost on average 拢62,000 per place compared with 拢24,000 in maintained special schools 鈥 has more than trebled to 15,620 since 2010. The government admits this may be 鈥渋ndicative鈥 of a mainstream system that is 鈥渄ecreasingly able鈥 to meet the need鈥 of SEND pupils, with the statutory EHCP process becoming 鈥渋ncreasingly used to secure resources to meet need鈥. Nearly 5 per cent of pupils now have an EHCP/or an old 鈥渟tatement”, up from 2.8 per cent in 2010. But this varies hugely from 2.1 per cent in some councils last year, to 7.1 per cent in others. Meanwhile in Essex, just 1 per cent of EHCPs were issued within the 20-week legal limit, compared with 100 per cent in Wandsworth, south London. Better SEND 鈥榮ystem health鈥 indicators planned Given the outlook, the government wants to improve its data around SEND and alternative provision. It will 鈥渢ake stock of our system health indicators, data flows as well as the regular data and insights needed as we embark on a programme of reform. We will make this an integral part of programme governance going forward.鈥 The DfE did not provide more details. Surge in kids in unregistered settings There has been a rise of nearly a third in the number of children in unregistered AP in one year, up to 27,060 from 20,390 in 2022-23. A Schools Week investigation in 2023 revealed children as young as five were increasingly sent to unregulated institutions, where teachers had neither qualifications nor criminal record checks. In its submission, the government said it wants AP to stop focusing 鈥渆xclusively on expensive long-term placements鈥 and focus instead on three tiers: targeted support for mainstream, time-limited placements for those in need of 鈥渕ore intensive support鈥欌 and transitional placements for those reintegrating back into mainstream. APs providing expertise to mainstream schools would also help 鈥渞educe numbers of preventable exclusions鈥.