Oct 7, 2019, Yorkshire Post: Families - including North Yorkshire family - lose challenge over special-needs funding https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/education/families-including-north-yorkshire-family-lose-challenge-over-special-needs-funding-1-10037882 Three families have lost a High Court challenge against the Government over special educational needs funding. The families, including the family of Benedict McFinnigan, 14, from Scarborough, brought the legal action over the Government's approach to providing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding, on behalf of all young people who rely on it. Their lawyers previously told the court there was a "genuine crisis" in Send funding for children and young people which could "blight their lives forever". But, in a ruling on Monday, Mr Justice Lewis said there was "no unlawful discrimination" in the way the Government made provision for SEND funding…. Jenni Richards QC, for the families, told the court at a hearing in June that there was "clear and incontrovertible evidence" of a "substantial national shortfall" in funding. Ms Richards argued that former chancellor Philip Hammond acted unlawfully in setting the national budget in October 2018, and former education secretary Damian Hinds did so when making available additional, but "manifestly insufficient", SEND funding in December…. She told Mr Justice Lewis they did not take enough account of the "nature and extent of the crisis" in SEND funding when making those decisions. Ms Richards said Department for Education statistics showed "rising demand" for SEND funding, which had "not been matched by anything like a commensurate increase in funding". She said the figures showed there were 25,540 young people aged 16-25 in January 2015 with a statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan, which had increased to 84,260 by January last year. The families sought a declaration that the Government's approach to SEND funding is unlawful, which they said would force ministers to consider increasing the amount available. Government lawyers, opposing the legal action, argued that the increase in demand was recognised by the ministers and Mr Hinds had "made it clear" that high needs would be one of his priorities ahead of the 2019 Spending Review. Mr Justice Lewis said there was "no reasonable basis" for concluding that the defendants were treating children and young people with special educational needs in a similar way to other children without such needs…. He added: "Factually, the funding system provides for additional funding through the high needs funding block. That is currently over £6bn a year. "In addition, if local authorities need more money to ensure that special educational provision is made, they will need to transfer money from other parts of their budget or from reserves. "Recognising the financial pressures on local authorities to meet their legal obligation to provide the specified special educational provision, the (Education Secretary) has, from time to time, made additional funds available specifically for special education needs - as he did with the allocation of an additional £350 million in December 2018."… In the September spending round, the Government said it would provide an additional £700 million over the next year for pupils "with the most complex needs" and also announced a review into special educational needs and disability and how the law is working in practice….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Loss of Brain Trust features over 9,000 news stories published worldwide since January, 2017
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
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What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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