SEND system faces “total collapse” without major reform to services: CCN

The report, published last week (14 November), claims that despite councils investing £30bn more on SEND services over the last decade, educational outcomes have not improved.

CCN therefore calls on ministers to undertake a ‘two-pronged approach’ to prevent the system from collapse, to include wiping councils’ deficits, alongside “root and branch change” to the SEND system.

Last month, the government confirmed a delay in publication of its white paper on reforms to SEND until early 2026.

The delay was described by CCN as “massively disappointing”, with the organisation calling for “comprehensive changes” to make the SEND system sustainable and address the “dramatic rise” in costs.

Following its recent research report, the network has warned that the government’s continuing inaction “only compounds the difficult experiences for families, letting down thousands of young people whilst pushing councils to the financial brink”.

The report’s key findings were outlined as follows:

• Costs are being driven by a dramatic rise in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) over the last decade. They reached an all-time high of 638,000 this year, and the number of young people in receipt of them are on course to reach almost 840,000 by the end of this Parliament – up by 32% in just four years.
• This surge has driven councils to increasingly rely on expensive private school places, which have risen 165% since 2015 and the total number of 34,000 pupils is almost one in five special school placements. With the yearly average cost of these independent and non-maintained private school placements set to reach £72,000 per pupil compared to £10,000 in a mainstream school by 2029, councils are on course to be spending £3.2bn a year on private school placements for young people with EHCPs.
• In March 2025, the debt accrued by councils for SEND services – money that has already been spent but is being kept off budget books via the ‘statutory override’ – stood at £4bn. These deficits are projected to grow to a total and cumulative deficit of £17.8bn by 2029.
• The in-year deficit councils are accruing every 12 months is set to reach £4.4bn in 2029 if nothing changes, which is why it is vital government sets out reforms to contain costs, alongside wiping the total debt pile accumulated. If government chooses not to wipe the total deficit, more than half of councils surveyed for the report (59 in total) would go bankrupt overnight in March 2028 when the statutory override is due to end.
• Despite investing over £30bn more over the last decade, neither educational outcomes nor family satisfaction with the system have improved. The percentage of GCSE students with EHCPs achieving Attainment 8 in 2025 is 14% – roughly the same as in 2019 and lower than the number achieving Attainment 8 in 2021. In addition, the percentage of 19-year-olds with EHCPs who attained Level 2 (equivalent to five GCSEs) is 30% – a decline from 37% of young people a decade ago.
• Councils are increasingly having to take money from mainstream schools to prop up SEND services, whilst losing hundreds of millions each year in servicing high-needs deficits. The report reveals that last year £150m, largely from mainstream schools, was re-routed to the local authority’s high needs budget. Councils are also losing £326m per year in lost interest and debt service charges from rising deficits – a figure that could reach almost £1bn by the end of the Parliament if they are not wiped.

To ensure “root and branch change”, the report recommends the government invests in building capacity in mainstream schools to meet more SEND children’s needs, such as therapists, educational psychologists, and wider inclusion and preventative support.

It also argues that the government should consider setting up a new framework which sets out a national set of SEND standards for councils and families, alongside legislative change to focus EHCPs on those most in need, underpinned by reforms to the tribunal system.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, Chair of the County Councils Network, said: “Last month’s delay to the Schools White Paper was massively disappointing not only for councils, but for families too. Time is of the essence: the government’s continuing inaction only compounds the difficult experiences for families, letting down thousands of young people whilst pushing councils to the financial brink.

“As today’s research shows, the system is heading towards total collapse in little over four years. This could mean families facing even longer waits for support, councils facing a level of demand that the system was never designed for, and local authorities staring down unimaginable deficits of almost £18bn.

“Now is the time to be bold and act decisively: government cannot keep ducking reform and ministers must use the delay to set out comprehensive and long-lasting change to the system.”

“Alongside wiping councils’ deficits, this will mean tough but necessary reforms that extend beyond making mainstream schools more inclusive – including legislative change to focus EHCPs on those most in need, underpinned by reforms to the tribunal system”.

Cllr Bill Revans, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, added: “It is widely accepted that the SEND system is broken, and it’s failing families, young people, and councils alike. Despite an extra £30 billion invested over the past decade, outcomes for children haven’t improved. The question is no longer whether reform is needed, but how far the government is willing to go to fix a system that simply isn’t working.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government inherited a SEND system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to get the right support. We’re determined to put that right by improving mainstream inclusion so every child can thrive at their local school.

“We’ve held over 100 listening sessions with families and will continue engaging parents as we deliver reform through the Schools White Paper.

“We’re already making progress – with better training for teachers, £740 million for more specialist places, earlier intervention for speech and language needs, and SEND leads in every Best Start Family Hub.”

Lottie Winson