{"id":10446,"date":"2025-07-10T08:04:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T08:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=10446"},"modified":"2025-07-10T08:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T08:04:21","slug":"the-guardian-view-on-special-needs-reform-childrens-needs-must-be-the-priority-as-the-system-is-redesigned-editorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=10446","title":{"rendered":"The Guardian view on special needs reform: children\u2019s needs must be the priority as the system is redesigned | Editorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

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C<\/span>hildren with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) must be supported through the education system to fulfil their potential as fully as possible. This is the bottom line for the families of the 1.6 million children with a recognised additional learning need in England, and all those who support them. It needs to be the government\u2019s priority too.<\/p>\n

There is no question that the rising number of children receiving extra help has placed pressure on schools and councils. There is wide agreement that the current trajectory is not sustainable. But if plans for reform are shaped around the aim of saving money by removing entitlements, rather than meeting the needs of children by improving schools, they should be expected to fail.<\/p>\n

If ministers did not already know this, the Save Our Children\u2019s Rights campaign launched this week ought to help. As it stands, there is no policy of restricting access to the education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that impose a legal duty on councils to provide specified support. But ministers\u2019 criticisms of the adversarial aspects of the current system have led families to conclude that they should prepare for an attempt to remove their enforceable rights. Christine\u00a0Lenehan, who advises the government, has indicated that the scope of EHCPs could be narrowed, while stressing a commitment to consultation. Tom\u00a0Rees, who chairs the department for education\u2019s specialist group, bluntly terms it \u201ca bad system\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Rees\u2019s panel has had its term extended until April. The education select committee will present\u00a0the\u00a0conclusions of its inquiry into the Send crisis in\u00a0the autumn. Both should be listened to carefully. But the education secretary, Bridget\u00a0Phillipson, and\u00a0her team also need to show that they are capable of engaging beyond the circle of appointed\u00a0experts and parliamentarians. Parents can make their views known through constituency MPs. Their voices and perspectives need to be heard\u00a0in Whitehall too.<\/p>\n

This is a hugely sensitive policy area. There is nothing parents care more about than the opportunities provided to their children, and this concern is intensified when those children have additional needs. Some positive steps have been taken during Labour\u2019s first year. Increased capital spending on school buildings should make a difference to in-house provision, which relies on the\u00a0availability of suitable spaces. Ministers are right, too, to focus on teacher training, while inclusion has been given greater prominence in the inspection framework. As with the NHS, there is a welcome emphasis on spreading best practice.<\/p>\n

But big questions remain. Families are fearful that accountability mechanisms are going to be removed, and want to know how the new \u201cinclusive mainstream\u201d will be defined and judged. Councils are concerned about what happens to their \u00a35bn in special needs budget deficits, when the so-called statutory override expires in 2028. The concerning role of private equity in special education \u2013 which mirrors changes in the children\u2019s social care market\u00a0\u2013 also needs addressing.<\/p>\n

Schools need to adapt so\u00a0that a greater range of pupils can be accommodated. The issue is how\u00a0the\u00a0government manages that process. The hope must be that the lesson ministers take from their failure on welfare is that consultation on highly sensitive changes, affecting millions of lives,\u00a0must\u00a0be thorough. In order to make change, they must build\u00a0consensus.<\/p>\n