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News & Events The True Cost of EHCPs
Emma Sanderson, questions the true cost of the current delays to providing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) to children with additional needs.
A year ago this month, the DfE published its long awaited and much heralded, SEND Improvement Plan, but are we any further along in meeting the needs of young people with special educational needs (SEN) and complex needs?
One indicator of progress, is the number of EHCPs issued by the local authority (LA). Tribunal data released by the Ministry of Justice (Dec 2023) shows appeals against LA decisions on EHCPs have hit an all-time high of 13,700.1 Since 2014, this number has increased year on year, in 2022-23 it was up by 2,600 (24%) from 2021-22.
Appeals represent families struggling and children delayed in accessing the vital support they need. The proportion of cases found at least in part in favour of the appellant, has also reached a record high of 98%, up from 96% in 2021-22 and 2020-21. Over a quarter (28%) of appeals were against refusals by LAs to conduct the initial assessment, the first step towards getting an EHCP.
Despite only 32% of pupils with EHCPs diagnosed with autism, almost half (45%) of appeals relate to autistic children and young people – suggesting that autistic children may find accessing support particularly challenging.
So what does it all mean? It’s a huge problem for many children and families. But the fact that the vast majority of appeals successfully challenge the LA’s decision, also begs the question – are these decisions purely financial? And if so – does it actually add up? Surely delays in supporting young people with SEN has a greater financial impact further down the line.
Chasing an EHCP to get the support they need to thrive in school, children experience a system asking ‘what’s wrong with you?’ rather than ‘how can we help?’. A lack of funding and resources means that health and education professionals are no longer well positioned to provide for the children in their area, meaning families must turn to the legislative guarantee of support that an EHCP brings.
What now? Further reform of the SEND system is required – it must be as ambitious for the children it supports, as the children are for themselves. The Children’s Commissioner’s The Big Ask, the largest ever survey of children in England, showed that children and young people with SEN, want to be in school, just like all the others.2 We need to focus on identifying and supporting children’s additional needs early, rather than spending resources on adversarial complaints processes, disrupting children’s education and care – and placing huge stress on families.
Children with SEND are no less ambitious than their peers, they want the same things as every child – family, a caring environment to live in, and an education that secures their future.
© Outcomes First Group 2025