This report finds current support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) no longer works for the children, their families and the professionals inside and outside education settings. The paper considers the experiences of families, education providers and other system actors, the current challenges, the systemic causes and drivers of system failure and sets out a framework of recommendations to guide government reform.

The findings indicate that children and their families are seeking support through Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) because their needs are not being met elsewhere. EHCPs have increased by 250% from 2013 to 2024 and for one in 14 young people, the wait was longer than a year. Poverty, Covid-19 pandemic and cuts to support services are possible drivers of the increasing need.

Key recommendations

• Design an education system for an inclusive society.
• Introduce a new model that delivers better support sooner.
• Build capacity by rebalancing funding and investing in the workforce.
• Incentivise inclusion by making it a core part of school improvement and accountability.
• Retain existing EHCPs as the system gears up to deliver better support sooner.