Special needs services in England face ‘total collapse’ from increasing demand | Special educational needs

Special educational needs services in England are facing “total collapse”, with councils facing £18bn of debt by the end of the decade as a result of rising numbers of children needing extra educational support in schools.

Councils have warned that without urgent structural reform of the system, the cost of increased demand for special educational needs and disability (Referral) support could drive around 59 senior authorities into virtual bankruptcy by March 2028.

The government is now preparing long-overdue and potentially controversial changes to the system aimed at limiting rising spending while meeting the specialist needs of more children within the mainstream school system.

A. report The statement, published by the County Councils Network (CCN) on Friday, called on ministers to write off councils’ accumulated debts. Legislative changes and reforms, as well as sending debts to the courts of appeal to reduce access to expert support. Parents are strongly against such changes.

“The system is heading towards complete collapse in just over four years. This could mean families facing even longer waits for support, councils facing levels of demand the system was never designed for and local authorities facing unimaginable deficits of almost £18bn.” Matthew Hicks, CCN president.

The Department for Education said it had “taken over a Referral system on its knees”, leaving thousands of families struggling to get the right support. “We are determined to fix this by improving mainstream inclusion so every child can thrive at their local school,” a spokesman said.

Shipping spending has ballooned in recent years, fueled by sharp increases in demand and costs for education and health care plans (EHCPs). These give children and young people up to the age of 25 the legal right to receive support from municipalities in cases such as autism and speech and language difficulties.

According to the CCN report, the number of EHCPs issued has risen to a record 638,000 in 2024-25; It is predicted that up to 840,000 children and young people will have an EHCP by 2028-29, equating to 1 in 20 children and young people.

“This is a level of demand that the system will never be able to cope with, and so parents face a hostile system where they feel they have to fight relentlessly to receive assessment and support for their children’s educational needs,” the report says.

Autism and other neurodiversity needs, social and emotional health and language and communication difficulties account for more than two-thirds of EHCPs in English schools, the report said.

The increasing number of EHCPs, which theoretically guarantee an appropriate level of educational support for individual children, has forced councils to increasingly rely on private specialist schools, some owned by private equity investors, to meet demand.

The CCN report estimates that 34,000 students are in private schools at an average annual cost of £72,000 per place; This is much higher than the average annual cost of £10,000 per place in mainstream schools.

An extensive investigation of English councils by the Guardian using freedom of information requests earlier this year found that councils’ total submission gap forecast was £3.2bn at the end of March 2025, rising rapidly to £5.2bn by the end of March 2026.

The survey, carried out for the CCN report, estimates that councils’ total accumulated deficit will rise to £6.6bn by the end of March 2026, £13.4bn by the end of March 2028 and £18bn a year later; This suggests that Send spending is rising even more rapidly above the level of government funding.

March 2028 is a very important date for councils; because at this point the so-called “override” accounting arrangement that allows authorities to effectively keep Send debts hidden off the balance sheet ends. Re-booking debts would send many councils into immediate bankruptcy.

Lorna Baxter, Chair of the Local Government Treasurers Association, said: “We often hear about the black hole in the public finances, but billions of pounds in Send shortfalls are lurking in local government accounts. Without urgent government action, we face the risk of an unprecedented local government financial crisis.”