A new report by the Local Government Association (LGA) has called for urgent reform of SEND services.
The new report, Reform of the SEND system: What might the next stage look like and how can we build consensus? by Isos Partnership says more children with special educational needs should get the care and support they need in schools and other mainstream settings without the need for a statutory plan.
Cllr Arooj Shah, chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said: ‘We must the end the adversarial nature of the current system, where no child should have to fight for a statutory plan. Instead we need a system whereby children get the right support at the right time, and is not left behind.'
There are currently around 434,000 children in school with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), a legal document provided by councils outlining a child's needs and the support they will receive.
The LGA is calling for an overhaul of the current system where most children will get the support they need in schools without needing an EHCP.
The report, which follows regional and national workshops with young people, parents and carers, and leaders of health, education settings and local government, sets out a series of reforms.
These include: a national vision of what an inclusive system should like; a focus on a more inclusive early years inclusive approach; developing a workforce to address the shortage of practitioners ensuring they have the right training and skills; and joint working across education and health services, to enable an integrated and holistic approach to supporting children, young people and their families.
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