National Audit Office says the system incentivises schools to be less inclusive
Wed 11 Sep 2019 06.00 BST
Last modified on Wed 11 Sep 2019 06.02 BST
Children with special needs and disabilities are being marginalised by mainstream schools in England, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) which says the system incentivises them to be less inclusive.
The NAO accuses the government of misjudging the financial impact of its changes to education, with rising numbers of pupils with special needs unable to be accommodated in mainstream schools following a combination of funding strains, off-rolling and exclusions.
This has resulted in local authorities having to break their budgets to fund additional places in special schools, including in more expensive independent schools, its report says.
The investigation found that mainstream schools had incentives to avoid enrolling pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), because of the additional costs imposed on school budgets and from the impact on the school’s league tables.
“Stakeholders in the sector have raised concerns that the demand for special school places is growing because the system incentivises mainstream primary and secondary schools to be less inclusive,” the NAO said.
“Mainstream schools are expected to cover the first £6,000 of support for a child with Send from existing budgets and cost pressures can make them reluctant to admit or keep pupils with Send.
“Another barrier is that schools with high numbers of children with Send may also appear to perform less well against performance metrics.”
The NAO’s figures showed that while the number of pupils with high needs has risen over the past four years in special schools, alternative provision and independent special schools, the number enrolled in mainstreams schools was still lower in 2018 than in 2014 or 2015.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) said the government has committed to providing an extra £700m next year to help educate children with Send, along with launching a review of support.
“We have improved special educational needs support to put families at the heart of the system and give them better choice in their children’s education, whether in mainstream or special school,” the DfE said.
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “While lots of schools, both special and mainstream, are providing high-quality education for pupils with Send, it is clear that many children’s needs are not being met.
“I therefore welcome the DfE’s announcement of a review into support for children with Send, following our engagement with them on this issue over recent months. We hope the review will secure the improvements in quality and sustainability that are needed.”
The report noted that pupils with special needs were more likely to be permanently excluded than those without special needs. Pupils with Send accounted for nearly 45% of all permanent exclusions and 43% of fixed-term exclusions in 2017-18, despite accounting for only around 20% of the pupil population.
“Evidence also suggests that pupils with Send are more likely to experience off-rolling – where schools encourage parents to remove a child primarily for the school’s benefit – than other pupils,” the NAO wrote.
The 2014 education reforms replaced statements of special education needs with education and health care (EHC) plans, but the NAO said the DfE misjudged the financial consequences: “The department expected that the benefits and savings would significantly outweigh the costs of moving to the new system.”
Tim Nicholls, head of policy at the National Autistic Society, said ministers need to use the review announced last week to address the system’s serious problems.
“We hear awful stories every day of autistic children who are being held back from getting the education they deserve because schools don’t understand or can’t meet their needs. This can be devastating for them and their families, and mean they lose all faith in the system. This detailed NAO report shows the extent of this unacceptable situation,” Nicholls said.
