(England) Schools don't have enough staff to mainstream more special needs kids: survey
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Schools do not have enough staff to achieve the government's aims of providing support for more children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools, England's largest teaching union has said.
Daniel Kebede, National Education Union (NEU) general secretary, said the "overwhelming" feeling of teachers was inclusion couldn't be done "on the cheap".
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg ministers were "investing more" to support young people in need.
In February, the government announced major reforms to the SEND system in England, including bringing in "inclusion bases" - dedicated spaces for pupils with SEND - in all schools.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it had announced "once-in-a-generation SEND reforms to put inclusion at the heart of education".
The government has commited an extra £4bn [$5.3B] between now and 2029 to prepare schools before the main changes begin to come into force.
Of that extra funding, £1.6bn [$2.1B] will go directly to early years, schools and colleges over the next three years as part of an "inclusion fund" to prepare for change.
A further £1.8bn ]$2.4B] will fund extra expert support for schools to call on during the transition, with some more money for training and local authorities too. . . .
Daniel Kebede says the union supports the plans, but wants more funding for schools to deliver them
Ahead of its annual conference in Brighton, the NEU carried out a snapshot survey of its members, saying the sample of 10,300 teachers and 3,000 support staff who responded had been adjusted to reflect the school workforce.
According to the union, 86% of teachers responding said insufficient staff was a barrier to inclusion, followed by 73% who identified workload as a barrier.
Teachers and support staff also expressed concerns about class sizes, training and the difficulties in the current system of getting specialist help to identify children's needs and provide support.
Among the government's key SEND reforms is a proposal for schools to draw up an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child with special educational needs.
In future, the intention is for many more to have their needs met at a mainstream school.
The government wants to achieve this by making schools more inclusive - such as by having more sensory spaces and earlier access to specialists like speech and language therapists.
Alongside this, by 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) - the legal documents which set out what support pupils are entitled to.
The proportion of children with EHCPs has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, and although that is expected to continue to grow in the next few years, the government hopes its changes will eventually bring it back down to current levels. . . .
Recent research by an independent charity points to the potential pressures on schools in England as they prepare for the changes ahead.
The NFER workforce reports suggest while progress is being made in recruiting and keeping teachers, a growing proportion of teaching assistants are leaving their jobs in schools.
It estimates that around one in five support staff left the school system between 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Teaching assistants in particular play an important role in providing more individual support in classrooms for children with special educational needs. . . .
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