DECP response to announcement of more special school places

This is in reaction to the announcement of 60,000 more special school places, which will come as a welcome relief for many families awaiting a school place for their children, and for many local authorities who have currently have no or very limited places available. 

However, we remain extremely concerned that the underlying factors behind the unprecedented numbers of requests for specialist educational provision being made remain unexamined and unaddressed. 

The proportion of children attending special schools has been increasing since 2005, with a marked increase since 2011 (Black, 2019). In March 2024, preliminary data was released by the government which indicated that two-thirds of special schools are currently full or over capacity. 

While there are demonstrably more requests for special school provision, it's not necessarily the case that more children 'need' special schools than they did two decades ago, as much as that mainstream schools find it much more difficult to provide the flexibility and resources required for inclusive education as they did two decades ago. 

As such, the DECP is concerned that the reasons why mainstream schools are finding it so difficult to provide inclusive education for an increasing proportion of children and young people remain unexamined and unaddressed. 

We also wish to draw attention to the extensive evidence (which appears to have been forgotten or overlooked) that, for a majority for children and young people, being educated in their community mainstream schools results in the best outcomes for them. 

The DECP invites the Department of Education (DfE) to work with educational psychologists to examine some of the factors underlying the current situation. This will need to include recognition that the ever-increasing demands on the Send system cannot usefully be understood in isolation and must instead be examined within the context of the wider education system.

We encourage the DfE to acknowledge competing pressures and legislative frameworks within the education system (e.g. narrow and rigid curricula, high stakes performativity measures for schools and teachers and a culture of competition between schools) that are themselves, and combined with chronic underfunding, making it increasingly difficult for schools to provide inclusive education for an ever-growing proportion of children who are therefore having to seek education within special schools. 

Dr Gavin Morgan, chair of the DECP, said:

"We are calling for a recalibration of the positioning within the education system of those children and young people who need something additional and/or more to access education, so that they are no longer an after-thought or bolt on, but so that considerations of their needs are integrated at the centre policy and decision-making about education. 

"An increase in the number of educational psychologists being trained is also needed, so that we can fulfil the ever-increasing statutory demands associated with growing numbers of EHCPs. 

"This is necessary in order to increase our capacity to provide the crucial early intervention and inclusive school system work that is so powerful in stopping needs from becoming entrenched, as well as so that a team of educational psychologists can work within the DfE supporting integrated Send considerations into all education policies and the development of sustainable inclusive systems."