(England) Teachers warn "mainstream schools cannot cope with current levels of need"
- 32 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Teachers are worried their class sizes are too big and there’s not enough staff to help support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), a survey has found.
Findings from the National Education Union (NEU) found nearly nine in 10 (89%) teachers think class sizes are too big, and more than four in five (83%) think a lack of staff is a significant barrier to their school fully serving Send pupils.
Just one in five (22%) of the 10,311 NEU members surveyed said they were confident that referring a pupil for Send assessment, diagnosis or support would actually get them the help they need.
Now NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede has warned the findings show mainstream schools cannot cope with the current levels of need, and told ministers the funding for reforms to the Send system must be increased. Mr Kebede said: “All children must have ready access to special needs support from their school without a long bureaucratic process. The planned Inclusion Grant must be increased. Schools need significantly more resources to allow the Government’s ambitions, as set out in the White Paper, to be achievable."
Under the Government’s reforms to the Send system, schools across England will be required to draw up a digital individual support plan (ISP) for every child with Send, and children currently with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) will have it reviewed when they reach the end of primary or secondary school.
The reforms will be backed by £1.6 billion [$2.1B] for mainstream schools, colleges and early years settings over three years to help them become more inclusive. Four in five (83%) teachers said extra funding for more classroom support would have a major impact on Send provision at their school. Nearly three in four (73%) said funding for schools to access specialists would also have a major impact. . . .
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