Less than half of EHCPs issued within legal limit

The number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) assessments conducted by local authorities has increased by 250 per cent between 2013 and 2024, research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reveals.

Last year alone, 105,240 young people underwent an EHCP needs assessment. 

This surge means that more and more children are being forced to rely on a system already struggling to meet their needs.

Last year, less than half (46.4 per cent) of EHCPs were issued within the statutory time limit of 20 weeks. For one in 14 young people, the wait was longer than a year.

IPPR’s analysis by local authority found that over half (57.2 per cent) of young people in Leeds wait more than a year for their EHCPs. While at least one in five have to wait over 52 weeks in 14 other councils.

One in five children are identified with special educational needs (19.5 per cent) and over 5 per cent of all pupils now access the highest level of special educational needs support through EHCPs, almost double the 2017 figure.

More assessments and more plans also mean more complaints and court cases. In 2023/24 there were 21,000 registered appeals, up 55 per cent on the previous year. Almost all were found in favour of parents.

The authors of the report say poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic are possible drivers of increasing need, alongside cuts to support services. The report highlights a 46 per cent fall on spending on early intervention between 2010/11 and 2021/22, the closure of 1,340 Sure Start centres over the same period, and a 26 per cent real terms cut to public health services since 2015/16.

The reliance on EHCPs means that funding and resources are taken away from early intervention in mainstream schools, which in turn creates a self-perpetuating cycle of high costs, growing waiting lists and more children with unmet needs.

The think tank set up the IPPR Inclusion Taskforce to find a cross-party solution to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. 

The final recommendations include creating a new Additional Learning Support system, delivered in schools by schools to provide timely, high quality, evidence-based support to pupils with SEND needs and revamp EHCPs into LA coordinated plans for the most complex cases.

It calls for retaining existing EHCPs, so no child with a current plan will lose one until the new system is working for families and children. It also calls for an investment in teacher training and SEND professionals by rebalancing funding towards early intervention so schools have the experts and resources they need to support children with additional learning needs.