Our response to NAO's report on special educational needs

The report, published on 24 October, assesses how well the current system delivers for children and young people with SEN in England and looks at DfE’s progress in addressing the underlying challenges to providing a sustainable system that achieves positive outcomes.

The report highlights the financial pressures present in the system. This includes children and young people not experiencing better outcomes despite the DfE increasing high-needs funding, with a 58% real-terms increase between 2014-15 and 2024-25 to £10.7 billion. Local authorities are also under great financial pressure, with LAs being forced to overspend on their high-needs budget, contributing to deficits within their dedicated schools grant (DSG).

The report is clear - if unreformed, the SEN system is financially unsustainable.

The report also highlights the impact on children, young people, and their families, with stakeholders reporting that insufficient capacity and long waiting times contributed to low parental confidence.

Emma Balchin, NGA Chief Executive, said:
“The findings from the NAO Report echo what we are hearing from our members. NGA’s Annual Governance Survey 2024 underscored the persistent challenges regarding SEND provision in England.
Despite the best efforts of everyone involved in the education of a child or young person, our findings show the system is hampered by inadequate funding, staff shortages, and inconsistent support services. Governing within a system that so desperately needs reform means that providing challenge and oversight for the benefit of pupils is made all the more difficult.
NGA agrees that ‘if unreformed, the SEN system is financially unsustainable’. Although increased funding will go some way to addressing this, a more comprehensive reform of funding and the wider system, including beyond education to health and social care too, is needed.
Remembering that the SEN system should be delivering for some of society’s most vulnerable children and young people is important. NAO estimates there are around 1.7 million children at school who were identified as having SEN in January 2024. The 2014 SEND reforms aimed to “to put children and parents at the heart of the system”– something NGA supported but for children, young people and their families to benefit from this intention, the system needs reform with an emphasis on everyone working together to meet the needs of the child or young person.”

NGA has a selection of resources to help our members meet their obligations regarding supporting pupils with SEND.

We are also keen to hear from members about their experience in governing SEND and the challenges facing their settings. Please do get in touch by emailing rani.kaur@nga.org.uk.