IPPR launches inclusion taskforce amid SEND ‘breaking point’
According to the institute, six children in every classroom now have identified additional needs
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The Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) has announced the launch of a new inclusion taskforce that will aim to improve England’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
The taskforce will be chaired by Geoff Barton, former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
It comes as the institute said England’s SEND system is at “breaking point, creating a lose, lose, lose situation for children, their families, and dedicated education professionals”.
According to the institute, six children in every classroom now have identified additional needs, and the number of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – the most complex form of support – has doubled in the last decade.
The IPPR said consequences are that for children, outcomes are “unacceptably poor”. Only 22% of children on SEN Support achieve a grade 5 or higher in English and maths, significantly below the national average of 46%. Furthermore, half of all school suspensions last year were issued to children with identified additional needs, highlighting failures in engagement and support.
For families, it added the system is “slow, adversarial, and deeply frustrating”. Fewer than half of all EHCPs are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe according to the group, and parental satisfaction is plummeting, with a 180% increase in tribunal cases since 2016.
It added that teachers and leaders face “challenges with inadequate resources and a lack of confidence in meeting complex needs”. Nine out of 10 teachers reportedly say they need more support.
The IPPR added its inclusion taskforce will “rigorously” examine how to transform the SEND system, addressing pervasive issues such as assessment delays, patchy support, and consistently poor outcomes.
It will also gather evidence from children and their families, nurseries, schools, colleges, local authorities, and all those working hard to support children with additional needs.
The IPPR added that this evidence will be “crucial in developing a robust set of principles for SEND reform, aiming to articulate a positive and achievable vision for the future of education”.