(UK) England: Up to four year wait for special ed services

April 11, 2025, Times: Children with special needs waiting two years to be assessed  

Parents and campaigners are frustrated at the delays in getting help and that councils are wasting money fighting appeals that they almost always lose

Children in England with special needs or disabilities have to wait up to two years before receiving the support they are entitled to.

In further evidence the system which supports children with special educational needs or disabilities (Send) is struggling under pressure, only half of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which outline the support for children, are issued within the statutory 20-week time frame, according to government data.

Keeley Reading, 34, spent years trying to get an initial needs assessment for her five-year-old daughter, who does not speak and has other complex problems including autism and ADHD.

Reading, who has two other children and lives in St Goran, Cornwall, said: “The process can take up to two years and many families are rejected even for an initial assessment. Even when a child is accepted for a needs assessment, parents complete all the paperwork, only for it to be rejected at the first stage. That triggers mediation, where the council has 30 days to respond but often doesn’t. Then it goes to the tribunal, and the council usually backs down and agrees to assess, but even then, they can still refuse to provide support. Families are left to start the process all over again.”

Reading, who founded an education centre for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) said that support was lacking from the start, despite children being eligible for EHCPs from birth.

Even when the criteria for autism are met referrals for diagnosis can take up to four years.

“My daughter Maddison was in pre-school but they lacked the staff and funding to support her and I had to pull her out,” she said. “We’re still waiting for a tribunal and two years later Mads has a temporary Education Out of School Plan with no court date set.” 

She added that delays have plagued every step of the process, including an 18-month wait for a speech and language therapist and a two-and-a-half-year wait to see an occupational therapist.

As Labour plans to reform the system, councils say that soaring deficits have left them on the brink of bankruptcy.

The government is drawing up a white paper but parents fear it could lead to fewer EHCPs and even less support for the growing number of children with complex disabilities.

Sam Carlisle, a former executive features editor of The Sun who has a child with special needs, said that the government might cut funding to manage the “local authority funding apocalypse” and, if eligibility is reduced before mainstream inclusion is in place, it would result in “another generation of lost children”.

Solicitors representing families believe that councils are delaying assessments to save money. . . .

Watkins said that when parents requested a needs assessment, the council “will always say no”. “If you appeal, they will give in quite easily. I once had a child, aged seven, non-verbal, non-mobile with cerebral palsy, incontinent and the local authority refused a statutory assessment.”

Dan Rosenberg, an education lawyer, said: “Early intervention for children is crucial, particularly around communication, and pushbacks and delays by councils mean that subsequent intervention can be more costly and less effective than that done in a more timely manner. We must not lose sight of the children at the centre of these issues.” . . .