The Send system is in crisis – but what should change look like? | Letters

2026-02-27 - 18:03

Guardian readers respond to the government’s education white paper setting out changes to provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities I am a special educational needs and disabilities (Send) coordinator in a mainstream primary school, a governor at a special school, and have two children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) who attend special schools. I have read the Send reform white paper, and like it (Send support for schoolchildren in England to be given £4bn overhaul, 22 February). There are areas that need clarity, but on the whole I find it purposeful and comprehensive both as a professional and as a parent. But one element has sat uncomfortably with me all day. Under the section on “experts at hand” it states that, with expert advice, schools can develop “immediate, cost-neutral actions that the school can take, such as introducing sensory circuits ... and lunchtime calm clubs”. These examples are not cost-neutral – quite the opposite. They require adult mediation which is very high-cost. The example exposes the authors’ underlying assumption that schools have general support staff, which is not the reality. Classes of 30 children are taught by one teacher, with no “general” teaching assistant. Resources are so stripped that teaching assistant hours are wholly allocated to deliver EHCP provisions, which are legally-bound for specific children. Continue reading...