(UK) "Explosion in kids with SPED needs destroying our schools"
The debate over the rapidly growing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision has become increasingly polarised. On one side are those who attribute the sharp rise in conditions requiring special educational support, such as autism and ADHD, to improved awareness and better understanding of neurodevelopmental conditions. On the other are those who dismiss the trend as evidence of parental opportunism and / or system abuse. Clements’ book is valuable because it rejects both of these simplistic positions.
Clements acknowledges that diagnoses of conditions classified as a special educational need have risen dramatically and that schools are struggling to cope. But he also highlights a system of support that is slow, bureaucratic and poorly designed, leaving families to navigate complex assessments and appeals in search of support that is often delayed or inadequate. As a father of an autistic child, Clements brings his own experience to bear on this complex problem. As he observes, children too often receive labels without receiving meaningful help, and the support eventually offered frequently bears little relation to their actual needs.
Importantly, Clements rejects the idea that parents are manipulating the system. Most are simply trying to understand their child’s difficulties and secure appropriate assistance. The deeper problem, he suggests, lies in a system that confuses diagnosis with intervention.
The more difficult question the book raises is why diagnoses have increased so sharply in such a short period. Neurology or psychiatry cannot explain the scale of change. Cultural factors must also be considered. Clements cautiously explores whether shifts in how childhood is understood have played a role, with behaviours once seen as part of normal variation now increasingly interpreted through a medical lens. Educational struggles are seen as symptoms, and difference as a sign of a disorder.
This does not mean the conditions are invented. Rather, it suggests a growing tendency to medicalise aspects of childhood that were previously understood as part of its natural diversity. Alongside this, diagnostic labels have taken on a broader social function, offering a sense of identity, an explanation for one’s struggles and a feeling of community. In some cases, as Clements notes, a SEND label becomes ‘a badge of pride’.
A further cultural shift lies in the educational establishment’s growing discomfort with academic excellence. Over the past two decades, schools have increasingly absorbed the assumptions of therapeutic culture, in which academic difficulty is framed less as a challenge to be overcome and more as a potential threat to wellbeing.. . .
The broader implication is that the rise in SEND reflects not only administrative pressures but also a deeper shift in how policymakers and educators conceive of the purpose of education. Schools are increasingly encouraged to define pupils in terms of their vulnerability rather than their potential. While this approach is motivated by care, it risks reshaping education in ways that are ultimately limiting.
None of this is an argument against supporting children with genuine disabilities. On the contrary, the concern is that the expansion of the SEND regime risks diluting the support available to those who need it most. When too many difficulties are classified as special educational needs, it becomes harder to identify and respond effectively to severe cases.
The Crisis in the Classroom is a timely and important intervention. At a moment when questioning the rise in diagnoses is often seen as controversial, Clements manages to combine empathy for families with a willingness to examine the cultural and institutional forces shaping the system. If there is a crisis in the classroom, it’s about not only resources or diagnosis, but also how education understands children, learning and potential.
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