Councils call for rebuilding of inclusive capacity and reformed legislative framework for SEND system

This followed an LGA report on reforming the SEND system which said some 434,000 children at present have plans.

The LGA said while an ECHP is suitable in some cases, most children could get the support they need in schools, without needing a plan were enough funding provided.

There had been a hollowing out of non-statutory SEND support, the report found, which forced families to seek an ECHP to access essential support.

The report said the system was “not working well for anyone in it” and at its most extreme, causes “long-term misery, stress and hardship for young people and their families”.

A series of LGA workshops heard from young people and system leaders, who agreed a much broader core of support is needed although this would require significant Government investment to build sufficient capacity.

It suggested there were two ‘pillars’ reform.The first related to building values, culture, practices and support capacity and the second pillar to legal rules and parameters.

“Without alignment between the two, the system would become inherently unstable, the report said.

Other proposals were for a national vision foundational values and expectations of an inclusive system, more emphasis on support during a child’s early years and developing a workforce skilled enough to address the shortage of practitioners.

Barriers between the education and health sectors should be broken down to enable joint working, the report said.

Cllr Arooj Shah, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “There is no doubt that the current SEND system is not working and is not meeting the support needs of children and families.”

Cllr Shah added: “This should be an inclusive system where an EHCP is not necessary, with a workforce that has the capacity and right skills, and investing in early intervention.

“Councils stand ready to work with government in tackling these challenges. But we have to ensure the voices of children and their families are heard and acted upon.

“We must the end the adversarial nature of the current system, where no child should have to fight for a statutory plan.Instead we need a system whereby children get the right support at the right time, and is not left behind.”

Rob Williams, senior policy advisor and send lead at the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “There is widespread agreement that the SEND system does need reform, but it is critical that any reform is accompanied by significant investment, to create a needs-led system, rather than a resource-limited one.”

Mark Smulian