(UK) Kent: 417 special needs kids have no school place; 'rising demand'
Parents have described feeling physically and emotionally "drained" - with some even having to quit their jobs - as they struggle to get their children with special educational needs into school.It comes as shock new data reveals that 417 school-aged children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) do not have a place in school.
And of those, three in four have been waiting more than 90 days.
Leighton Ovenden, originally from Maidstone, has been out of school since January 2025.
He has an EHCP, a legal document which sets out the additional support a child needs from a local authority for special educational needs (SEN).
The 11-year-old has autism, ADHD and sensory processing disorder, and Kent County Council (KCC) agreed he needed a specialist provision in November 2024.
However, when his mum Amy, 34, found a school that could meet his needs, the local authority declined it because of how much it would cost.
Number of school-age children with an EHCP waiting for a school placement based on Kent County Council figures. Picture: Editorial Graphics
It meant Leighton spent eight months without a school placement, until his family won a tribunal and the local authority agreed to an Education Other Than In School (EOTIS) package, which includes home tuition.
Now figures from a freedom of information request reveal that 310 school-aged children were awaiting a school placement for more than 90 school days, as of June 15, this year.
Out of the 417 children with an EHCP awaiting a placement, 74% had been waiting over three months.
Another 55 kids had been awaiting a placement for up to 60 school days, followed by 28 waiting less than 20 school days, and 24 waiting up to 90 school days. . . .
SEND advocate says there isnt enough support. . .
For Rachael Relton and her autistic son Jonny from Broadstairs, the wait for an appropriate school place began before the point of having an EHCP.
The 13-year-old has been out of school for almost a year, with his distress beginning in Year 5 at the time he started to prepare for his SATS. . . .
Rachael, a child minder, said: “It's constant and it’s just so stressful, waiting and
A KCC spokesperson said: “The best place for the vast majority of children is in a local school that can support their needs, and KCC makes every effort to secure places that meet this aspiration.”
Since July last year, her involvement has helped 47 families across the country and 11 in Kent win an appeal against the local authority's decision for their child.
This can be anything from the right to be assessed for an EHCP, issuing an EHCP, and specialist school placements.
The backlog has meant some appeals she has logged with families this week are not due to be heard until January 2028. . . .
"Kent, like many local authorities, has seen rising demand for EHCP assessments and specialist provision in recent years” they added.
“We continue to work closely with families, schools and partners to identify appropriate support and placements for children and young people, and where a suitable school place is not immediately available, alternative education arrangements are put in place as quickly as possible.
"The pressures being experienced are part of broader national challenges across the SEND system, which are the focus of ongoing reform."
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