(England) 11% increase in SPED plans in one year; 'system desperately struggling to cope'

July 3, 2025, i Paper: SEND system ‘desperately struggling’ ahead of shift to mainstream schools

Making England’s mainstream schools more inclusive for children with special educational needs will require “a lot of work”, a Government adviser has warned.

The Government has set out its intention to improve inclusivity in mainstream education settings for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with schools minister Catherine McKinnell telling The i Paper that “all teachers” will need to be SEND teachers under the reformed system.

 “There’s a strong appetite to improve, and many schools are already changing how they work. System reform must accompany that and support and build on this momentum.”

He continued: “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done so that mainstream schools become more inclusive for pupils with special needs, but in our work we have seen many examples that show it can be done, and which are a model of excellent practice.”

DfE data last week showed that the number of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – which set out the support a young person requires for their SEND needs – has increased.

In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January, up 10.8 per cent on the same point last year.

“Parents need to know and have confidence that their child’s needs can be met within a mainstream school, but making mainstream schools more inclusive doesn’t just help those with special needs – it improves the quality of education for all children,” Mr Rees added.

Phillipson said: “Our ambitious reforms will make sure children with SEND have better outcomes through our Plan for Change, with better support in mainstream schools and special school places always there for those who need them.

“Despite the system desperately struggling to cope, there are pockets of outstanding practice already in place in schools that show our vision for reform is possible.

“Thanks to Tom Rees, Ambition Institute and the Confederation of School Trusts for this work, this valuable insight will help more schools begin to create the foundations of this reformed system, and we’ll be setting out more details about how this will be achieved in the autumn.”