Council failure in of England spiraling to “absurd” levels in excess of 8bn in less than three years without reforming the special education foundation, a leading economic thinktank has said.
Spending on pupils with SEN has risen by almost 60% over the past decade, with the government announcing a further £1bn in the October budget, but the increased investment has not met the rising need; The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.
The pressure on the system, according to the IFS, is due to the “rocketing” number of children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs). These pupils have the highest needs and councils are legally obliged to provide and pay for the additional support outlined in the EHCP.
As a result, local authority deficits are likely to build to a total of £3.3bn this year, with the government predicting a further £2bn-£3bn increase over 2017 based on rising needs.
“Without reform, local authority deficits could easily reach absurd levels of over £8bn by 2027,” the IFS said.
In its new report, “Completing special needs education in England: something has to change”, the IFS says the SEN funding system is broken, and calls on the government to take a “clear, long-term vision” for “urgent; radical change”. Among the possible solutions he suggests “maybe reduce the obligations of the statutory EHCPs currently registered”.
The report, published on Tuesday, is a recent edition by . it follows National Audit Office report It was found that despite record levels of spending there were no signs of improvement in the lives of children with SEN.
Darcey Snape, IFS research economist and one of the authors of the report, said: “The special needs education system in England clearly requires urgent, radical change. Without reform, the need arises for an annual expenditure of at least £2bn-£3bn over the next three years.
The government has said it wants to expand SEN in mainstream schools instead of core. Snape said: “This represents a huge change in the school system, a major reform of the educational system needed, increased staffing and training, and many other things.
“Any transition could also involve significant costs in the short run and tight public finances. The first crucial leadership step is to set out with a clear long-term vision. The path of transition to a better system can run slowly, but it is necessary to take the current path of financial instability.
Julia Harnden, funding specialist for the Association of School and College Governors, said the system was on the brink of collapse.
“EHCPs are waiting long for children with the most complex needs, parents are let down and teachers are left in an impossible situation. “There is no avoiding the scale and urgency of the challenge,” he said.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders union, said: “The current subfunding system has left schools and councils suffering from serious deficits. We need to address those deficits in the short term, then introduce a more sustainable approach to funding.
A Department for Education spokesman said: “This is the latest addition to the mountain of evidence about the failings of the SMITTI system that we have inherited.
“Work has already begun to rebuild family confidence. The budget invested £1bn in day-to-day services and last week £740m was directed to helping local authorities create more specialist places in mainstream schools.
“Every child should have the best start in life and through policy change we will deliver this priority to the British people.”