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Children with special educational needs And people with disabilities (SEND) who are also from poorer homes face double the disadvantage, a charity has warned.
social mobility charity Sutton Trust Disadvantaged children deprived of SEND are said to be being failed by a system “plagued by inconsistency and capriciousness” bureaucracy,
A new survey found that children from low-income backgrounds are more likely to have SEND, but less likely to receive support through one than their more affluent peers. EducationHealth and Care Plan (EHCP).
The survey found that only 26 per cent of children qualify for free school meals, but of those who qualify for free school meals, 44 per cent of children with an EHCP receive support, and 39 per cent of children without an EHCP receive support.
Children who received free school meals suffered worse outcomes than their more affluent peers with SEND.
In 2023–24, only 7.5 per cent of pupils with EHCPs who receive free school meals achieved a grade 4 or higher in GCSE English and maths, while 17 per cent of pupils with an EHCP from better-off families achieved a grade 4 or higher.
A total of 4,008 parents were surveyed, 1,273 of whom had a child with SEND.
Nick Harrison, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said it is unacceptable that a child’s background can decide whether they get the support they need to get on at school.
“Getting the right child support shouldn’t be about a parent’s ability to pay. We need urgent action to make the system better for everyone,” she said.
EHCPs are legal documents that set out the supports needed for young people with SEND. Polling conducted by Public First found that more than two in three (68 percent) of middle-class parents spent money on an EHCP application, while only 28 percent of working-class parents spent the money.
At the extreme, 11 per cent of middle-class parents spent more than £5,000 on their application.
Additionally, two in five (41 per cent) of middle-class parents reported securing a special school place for their child, while only one in four (25 per cent) of low-income parents reported securing a special school place.
Margaret Mulholland, send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the divide in ability to pay to access support means “we effectively have a two-tier system”.
More affluent families are more likely to successfully use the tribunal system to obtain an EHCP; 22 percent of more affluent parents did this successfully, compared to 15 percent of low-income parents.
The SEND Tribunal allows families to appeal if they are unhappy with a decision made about their child’s EHCP. The parents are very likely to win: in 2023-24, 99 percent of the cases were decided in favor of the appellant.
Charlotte O’Regan, Senior schools The manager of the Sutton Trust said that parents who pay to get better support are “a symptom of this broken system” rather than the cause of it.
He added, “With terrible waiting times across England and many requests for help being refused, it is natural that parents with sufficient means would turn to a private service for help with their children.”
“The system should not force parents to pay to get the help their children need.”
The report also found that middle-class parents were happier with the support their child received from SEND than working-class parents.
Both Ms Mulholland and Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT (National Association of Head Teachers), said the lack of funding for SEND is leaving schools struggling to afford the support they need.
The Government is expected to publish its plans to reform the SEND system in a schools white paper in the coming months.
The Sutton Trust is calling on the government to simplify the process of accessing support to make it more equal for families and to recognize and act on the links between child poverty and SEND.
National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said the upcoming white paper should bring about “radical change” with significant investment.
School Standards Minister Georgia Gould said: “This report highlights the huge inequalities and poor outcomes facing SEND families under the system this government inherited.
“We are committed to strengthening a system that works for all families, not just the lucky few, which is why we are connecting with children and parents from different backgrounds as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life opportunities they deserve.
“This work is already underway, including better training for teachers, £740 million to help create more specialist school places and earlier intervention for speech and language needs – reassuring parents that support will be available regularly in the early stages.”