ITV News Regions and Nations investigation reveals true scale of shocking crisis in SEND provision across England, Wales and Northern Ireland

25th July 2024

ITV News Regions and Nations investigation reveals true scale of shocking crisis in SEND provision across England, Wales and Northern Ireland

25th July sees ITV put a “Spotlight on SEND” across news regions in its network; on TV, online, on ITVX and social media

Exclusive poll reveals over half (58%) of children with SEND have had to spend time out of school because their needs could not be met
Nearly a third (30%) of parents have had to use the legal system to fight for provision
24% said they took out loans with banks and/or online lenders to pay for legal help
National Autistic Society say this “should be a huge wakeup call” for the new Government and call for urgent reform of the SEND system
Major charities call ITV News investigation “shocking” and a “tragedy”

The Findings

ITV News Regions and Nations commissioned an online survey of 1,161 Parents of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across England & Wales. Fieldwork, carried out by Opinium, took place between 24th May and 9th July 2024.

Over half (58%) of children with SEND have had to spend time out of school because their needs could not be met. 36% of those children spent between a month and a year out of school. 7% of those whose children had to take time out of school said their child had spent more than a year out of school because their needs could not be met.
The poll reveals that a quarter (27%) of parents of SEND children would rate their provision and support as poor.
Nearly a third (30%) said they’d had to use the legal system to get the provision their young person needed.
Of those parents that used the legal system, 43% spent between £1,000 and £5,000 on legal fees. Shockingly, nearly a third (29%) of parents who’ve used the legal system had to spend between £5,000 and £50,000 on legal costs.
Of the parents that went down the legal route, almost half (47%) revealed they paid for these costs by using their savings, while just over a quarter (24%) said they took loans out with banks and/or online lenders.
Regional breakdowns available below

Along with the research, the investigation also gathered data through FoI responses from over 100 councils which reveals:

Across England the number of appeals lodged against councils over improper SEND provision rose by 80% between 2021 – 2023, as of May 2024
Of these appeals, the number ending up in tribunal rose by 46%
As of May 2024, 20834 children across England were awaiting assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan.
4407 children across England with EHC plans were waiting for school places, as of May 2024
Regional breakdowns available below

Spotlight on SEND – The story

Exclusive research for ITV News Regions and Nations reveals the cost and consequences of an education system that’s failing some of the most vulnerable children in society.

In a far-reaching investigation, ITV News’ exclusive poll combined with its largest-ever Freedom of Information project reveals:

A third of parents (30%) have had to use the legal system to get their children the right provision
Over half of children with SEND (58%) have had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met
The number of parents appealing over improper provisions is rising
Councils are spending millions fighting parents in the courts – only to lose most cases

NHS England advises that a child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities if they have a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means they need special health and education support in school. If a child needs extra health and education support, an application can be made for an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) to their local council.

Every parent applying for an EHC plan, which is a legally binding document setting out the provision a child with SEND needs, can appeal against the outcome of that process. This could mean that the local authority has decided not to offer extra provision, or where there is a disagreement about the provision set out in the plan – such as a child with SEND being given a mainstream school place.

Many families are being forced to take their appeal all the way to the First Tier Tribunal, pleading their case in front of a Judge.

Mel Merritt, who is Head of Policy and Campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said:

“It is families and children that are really buckling under this pressure.”

“It’s great that ITV are focussing a day on it, and so quickly when we’ve got a new government. They need to understand how big a problem this is. This is a really poorly funded, chronic need out there.”

“This should be a huge wake up call for just how broken the system is, and we need to return to having a system where if you have a special educational need you can get the support you need.”

ITV News Nations and Regions submitted Freedom of Information requests to councils across England and Wales, and the education authority in Northern Ireland – and received responses from over 100 councils revealing the scale of the problem.

Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association said:

“In councils we want the very best for all of our children and young people and it’s the system that is broken, and we need this government to really press forward with their promises of reforming and refunding it.”

“There is a funding deficit which is set to rise to about £5 billion pounds by 2026. The number of children that are coming into the system has gone up dramatically in the last ten years by about 140%.”

“The system is failing parents, we’ve been calling for reforms to it for several years now and we’re calling for the new government to fast-track those reforms.”

Katie Ghose, who is CEO of Kids, one of the Disabled Children’s Partnership member charities, said:

“It’s good to see ITV News doing this research, it mirrors our own research that families with disabled children are in a desperate situation, they are struggling to get their hands on support and this means their children are missing out on education and not getting access to the vital therapies they need to thrive.”

“The desperate situation of families with disabled children who are struggling to get their hands on the vital support their children need, needs all the attention that we can give it, so it’s good to see this new research”

From Good Morning Britain, through ITV News lunchtime bulletins across the nations and regions, on ITV’s flagship 6pm programmes and the late bulletins – ITV News will hear from parents who have been forced to wait for years for the most basic provision, pushed to the brink of mental and financial collapse. Our teams will tell human stories of the collapse of a system which is designed to help our most vulnerable.

Online, ITV News will provide in-depth analysis and an interactive map, giving viewers access to data by area. On ITVX, ITV News will be highlighting the most powerful stories on the UK’s only streaming platform offering on demand news.

In Wales, where the devolved government has responsibility for education, ITV Cymru Wales News will put a “Spotlight on ALN (Additional Learning Needs)” to reflect the difference between the systems in each country.

In Northern Ireland, UTV will focus on the crisis facing parents, and the education authority failing to meet the needs of children on time.

On ITV News social media feeds, ITV will feature stories of people on TikTok, X, Instagram and Facebook.

The ITV News ‘What You Need to Know’ podcast will hear from correspondents who have embedded themselves in the story, offering extra analysis of this developing crisis.

This coverage sees ITV News come together across its news nations and regions teams with a focus on one story, painting a nationwide and local picture on the crisis in SEND provision.

Guy Phillips, Editor, ITV Regional News said:

“This is a great example of how ITV News across the Regions and Nations can come together to focus attention on one single issue – and a very important one. The results of our extensive survey and FOIs show that thousands of parents of SEND children are facing daily battles just to get a decent education for their child – with many finding themselves in the legal system to do so.

“Our coverage stretches across multiple platforms – from TV to social media – and will help many parents and others be part of the discussion and debate about what needs to be done to improve the SEND provision for countless families across the UK. “