It is distressing to read that thousands of pupils with special educational needs (Send) are being refused additional funding due to increased financial pressures faced by local authorities (Special needs funding claims in English schools ‘increasingly being refused’, 8 October).
Buckinghamshire council has said it will not provide top-up funding for pupils without an approved educational health and care plan (EHCP). The grim reality, however, for parents and pupils is that getting appropriate access to Send support and an EHCP is becoming a postcode lottery.
The overriding issue is that there are not enough educational psychologists employed by local authorities to provide Send support and intervention, nor to undertake the assessments for the EHCPs required. With 20,000 children waiting for an education, health and care assessment, we cannot keep up with the increased demand.
There is an urgent need to train and retain more local authority educational psychologists in order to tackle the backlog. Importantly, this will also guarantee that the necessary Send support is provided to children, families and teachers to enable early intervention, which will prevent needs and challenges from becoming entrenched in the first place.
This will not only help children and families but will also save significant costs further down the line. The government’s commitment to reforming the Send system must include making this a top priority to help level the playing field for all children.
Dr Gavin Morgan
Chair, division of educational and child psychology, British Psychological Society
