Government Send Proposals to Drastically Reduce Education, Health and Care Plans by 2035
The government's long-awaited proposals for special educational needs and disabilities, known as Send, are projected to result in a significant reduction in the number of students receiving education, health and care plans by the year 2035. This policy shift is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, according to recent announcements from education secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Parent Survey Exposes Deep Dissatisfaction Among Families Without EHCPs
A comprehensive national survey conducted by the Parent Voice Project has revealed troubling findings about parental satisfaction within the education system. The research, titled How Schools Work for Every Child, represents the largest representative survey of its kind and involved more than 6,000 parents alongside focus group discussions.
The survey discovered that parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities who lack education, health and care plans constitute the least satisfied group within the entire education system. Only 38% of these parents believed that teachers in mainstream schools possessed the necessary tools to effectively address special needs requirements.
Stark Contrast in Parental Satisfaction Levels
The research documented significant disparities in how different parent groups perceive educational quality:
- 57% of parents with Send children lacking EHCPs rated their child's school education as high or very high quality
- 68% of parents with Send children who have EHCPs provided similar positive ratings
- 71% of parents with children without special educational needs gave high quality ratings
Fiona Forbes, founder of the Parent Voice Project, emphasized the critical importance of practical implementation: "If reform can deliver earlier and more visible support in mainstream schools, many parents will welcome it. But the shift away from escalation will only work if families experience consistency and follow-through in practice."
Resource Concerns Undermine Support for Inclusion
While the survey revealed widespread parental support for greater inclusion of Send children in mainstream schools—a central principle of government education reforms—this support comes with significant caveats. Approximately half of all parents surveyed considered it important for children with special needs to be educated in mainstream settings, but only 52% believed teachers currently have adequate resources to manage Send requirements effectively.
One mother from Weston-super-Mare expressed the frustration shared by many families: "It feels like you're constantly saying this isn't right, this isn't right, rather than someone sitting down and planning it. There's no thought given to children with additional needs ahead of a crisis. It's a battle the whole time."
Attendance Policies Create Regional Divides
The survey findings suggest potential conflicts between government initiatives to address school absenteeism and parental perspectives on attendance policies. With 18% of pupils now classified as persistently absent—nearly double the pre-pandemic rate—ministers have established an ambitious 94% attendance target supported by additional Send resources and attendance advisers.
However, the research indicates that attendance ranks low among parental concerns, with only 8% identifying poor attendance as a top challenge facing children. Parents expressed greater concern about school underfunding, behavioral issues, mobile phone and social media usage, and youth mental health problems.
The survey uncovered significant regional variation in attitudes toward school attendance requirements:
- Nearly 60% of parents in northeast England believe they should have discretion to remove children from school at will
- Only 37% of London parents share this perspective
One father from Oldham advocated for a pragmatic approach: "If you've got a kid who turns up every week, Monday to Friday, they're on time, they're always there, then if the parents want to take them for a two-week holiday once a year, they should go for it."
Building Positive School Experiences
Steve Mills, a headteacher and adviser to the report, emphasized the importance of creating engaging educational environments: "We need to make sure that, for children and parents, every day in school is a day they don't want to miss, rather than a day they are not allowed to miss. We want pupils running through the gates because school is exciting. I think that is possible. That's what happens in the best schools, and parents want to see that everywhere."
The comprehensive survey results highlight the complex challenges facing education policymakers as they attempt to balance fiscal constraints with the legitimate needs of special educational requirements students and their families across England.
