(UK) As of 2025, AUTISM most common reason for a student to have a special needs plan
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Feb 20, 2026, itvX: Over £2bn [$2.7B] spent taking children to school: The numbers behind the SEND crisis
The government is planning a number of reforms to the SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) system, which could be revealed in a white paper as early as Monday.
Leaked details suggest that from 2029, children with SEND will face having their right to support under an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) reviewed when they reach the end of primary school.
The reforms are expected to introduce a plan with legal footing for all children with SEND called Individual Support Plans (ISPs).
Ahead of the publication of the Schools White Paper, ITV News takes a look at the key data behind the SEND crisis.
What is the scale of SEND need?
Over 1.7 million pupils in England have special educational needs. That equates to nearly one in every six school age children - at nearly 15%.
Around 5% of these have an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which is the highest level of SEND support available. . . .
Since 2018, the number of children and young people supported by an EHCP has nearly doubled. The majority of these (483,000) are of school age.
The latest official figures show that nearly 640,000 children and young people aged under 25 had an active EHCP plan as of January 2026. In 2018, that figure was much lower - at 354,000.
Experts say the increase has largely been driven by more children with diagnosis of autism and ADHD getting the highest level of support.
As of 2025, the most common reason for children having an EHCP was autistic spectrum disorder.
And with this, a significant increase in children needing support has significantly increased costs. . . .
Councils are projected to spend over £14.8bn [$20B] on this type of SEND support this year.
The chart above, made using data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Office for Budget Responsibility, shows how sharply this spending has increased - from £7.8bn [$10.5B] in 2015, to £9.3bn [$12.6B] in 2020, to a record £14.8bn [$20B] last year.
There has been a particular focus on the increased cost in certain types of SEND support.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) broke down what was behind the growth in 'high needs' spending.
The think-tank found that council spending on private special schools - fee-paying schools for pupils with additional needs - had grown by 92% since 2018. . . .
Costs for transport to take kids with special needs to school have also soared, increasing by 81% over the last 7 years. ITV News has previously reported on the impact of rising transport costs on councils.
In a report published on Thursday, the County Councils Network warned that councils are now spending close to £10,000 [$13.4K] on average to get one SEND pupil to school.
They warned school transport costs for SEND children could hit £3.4bn [$4.6B] by 2030/31.
According to the IFS, SEND transport costs have already hit £2bn [$2.7B]in total. . . .
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said ballooning transport costs is something her new SEND strategy will address.
The amount of money supporting SEND kids in mainstream schools has also increased by 72% since 2018.
That is because of a huge increase in kids with EHCPs in mainstream schools. . . .
How will the government bring costs down?
It is this finding in particular that points to the challenge right at the heart of SEND reform.
Because in order to bring down SEND spending, Philipson will not only have to reduce the number of SEND kids going to out-of-catchment placements, or expensive private schools.
She will have reform how SEND provision is delivered in mainstream schools as well.
The soaring SEND costs are such that many councils have had to dip into their main school funding pot to top up their special needs support.
That has left most councils spending more money than they have, racking up a deficit.
According to campaign group Special Needs Jungle, nine in 10 councils have deficit at a combined total of £6.6bn [$8.9B].
The OBR said in November, that if the current situation didn't change, that could rise to £14bn [$19B] by 2028, a figure which provoked fears that councils would be financially obliterated.
Westminster will now wipe 90% of a council's debt, using an exceptional grant which local governments can sign up to with certain conditions.
The grant will be called the 'High Needs Stability Grant'.
After that point, SEND spending will be absorbed into central government, a change which was announced by the chancellor in November. . . .
ITV News understands the reforms will be radical, focused on creating a new tiered system of support, which reserves EHCP's for children with the most severe needs in a bid to build a more sustainable and accessible special needs system.
But with spending soaring, and showing no signs of slowing down, balancing delivering for families with bringing down costs will be a hard task.
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