MPs have warned that a ‘lost generation’ of children could leave school without having received the help they need, with the LGA calling for a plan for reform.
In a report on support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Public Accounts Committee has urged the Government to take action to improve a system that is failing the families who need it and putting almost half of all councils in England in danger of effective bankruptcy within 15 months.
It recommended that, within six months, the Department for Education should set out the provision that children with SEND should expect, how inclusive education will be achieved, and how schools will be held to account.
The committee also called on government to work with councils to develop “a fair and appropriate solution” to the financial challenges they face supporting children with SEND.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “The Public Accounts Committee is right to describe the failing SEND system as an emergency, and its report reflects councils’ long-standing concerns over the need for more inclusive provision and for the immense financial pressures on councils to be adequately addressed.
“It is vital the Government urgently sets out a comprehensive reform plan that ensures children and their families get the support they need and deserve.
“This must include ensuring councils are on a financially stable footing, with high-needs deficits written off.”