The situation across England for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has increasingly worsened over recent years. A lack of funding combined with the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on children’s development has resulted in the number of children in England with SEN rising to 1.7 million, constituting almost 20% of all pupils in 2025. With this increase, the sector has become reliant on private funding institutions to provide SEND schools.   

The Government have promised to improve SEND provisions and were set to release a White Paper in autumn 2025 outlining their plans. However, a recent announcement has confirmed this will be delayed until early 2026. 

In preparation, the Education Committee (‘The Committee”) published a report outlining their recommendations for addressing the structural problems in the sector and its regulation.  

Key recommendations

The Committee highlight 10 key areas where the education system is failing SEND children and young people, and their recommendations for improvement are as follows:  

• Definition of ‘inclusive’  

The Government has not defined ‘inclusive’ education, leaving the sector unclear as to what inclusive education should look like. This makes it difficult for schools and local authorities to understand what needs to be done to meet the threshold of ‘inclusive’. The Committee recommend that the Government publish a definition of ‘inclusive’ with evidence of what good practice will look like. 

• Inconsistency in SEND provisions  

There is inconsistency across England for SEND provisions due to different regional approaches. The Committee recommends a national unified framework that provides practical guidance for how SEND support should be delivered, including statutory requirements and the minimum resources every school must have access to. 

• Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plans 

The Committee highlight the rising levels of demand for EHC plans as ‘unsustainable’, due to families not receiving the support required for their children at the ordinary available support levels. The Committee recommend that the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care should monitor SEND Tribunals to identify where local authorities are systematically failing and undertake focused work to address these failures. 

• Workforce 

There is currently a shortage of staff properly equipped with training and resources to respond effectively to young people with special educational needs. The Committee recommend continuing professional development on SEND to become mandatory for all teachers in mainstream education, for at least one member of a school’s senior leadership team to hold a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) qualification, and all new headteachers to hold a SEND-specific qualification within four years.  

• A sustainable model of funding 

The current funding model is incapable of providing the amount of support needed for children and young people. The current provision of £6,000 per child with SEN is insufficient due to rising costs of services and is often reallocated to other areas in the school, as it is not ring-fenced for the child. The Committee recommends a review of the National Funding Formula to take better account of local needs and regional disparities. For example, transport in rural areas and varying levels of deprivation. The investment in school facilities and resources should be based on longer-term funding cycles and underpinned by data collection to ensure funding is targeted and allocated proportionately in the areas with the highest needs. Furthermore, the Department for Education (DfE) should work urgently with the Treasury and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to secure the necessary funding, including a clear strategy for local authorities’ SEND-related deficits.  

• NHS support 

The Committee finds that the NHS and health sector take a ‘passive’ approach to SEND, separate from the Education sector. They recommend that health services take a more active approach in delivering services to support children with SEN, with SEND identified as a priority across the health system. Integrated Care Boards should be fully engaged with local SEND systems with clearly defined responsibilities. This must also be met with substantial investment from the health sector. 

• Restoring trust and confidence 

The Committee reports that there are currently insufficient mechanisms for holding schools to account for their SEND provisions, and parents and carers have lost faith in institutions to support their children and young people. To address this, the Committee recommends that parents be actively involved in discussions about their children’s education. Furthermore, they recommend that Ofsted take a stronger approach to identifying issues with SEND provisions in schools. 

• Early years 

The Early years sector is currently under-resourced, despite being a crucial element of identifying children’s needs to target intervention early on. The Committee advises that early language support for every child and Nuffield Early Language Intervention programmes are funded adequately and rolled out across England. 

• Post-16 

Young people with SEND often experience a decrease in support after they leave secondary education and further education is often ignored by SEND policy. The Committee recommend ringfenced funding for post-16 SEN support.  

• New schools 

The proposed Children and Schools Wellbeing Bill provides local authorities with a greater role in establishing new schools. The Committee welcome this and recommends investment in high-quality specialist state schools and other mainstream provisions, which should be achieved by shifting funding from some independent specialist schools to better-value-for-money state specialist schools. 

Conclusion 

These recommendations would be a welcome improvement to SEND support across England. However, it is unclear whether these will be incorporated into the Government’s White Paper, which has been delayed until early 2026. 

Capsticks’ view 

The increase in funding and shift in funding models would be a positive development for both mainstream schools and local authorities in addressing the inadequate funding currently provided for SEND, and divisions across the country regarding the support available. This will be welcomed by the sector and will allow for funders and tenants to be adequately equipped to address SEND provision and open new SEND schools across the country. We expect that the changes to SEND would come with increased regulation of the sector, through Ofsted but potentially through more stringent measures. The Committee has recommended the retention of SEND Tribunals, and we anticipate these may become more prevalent as the Government aims to identify where the failures are taking place and address the general issues.  

How Capsticks can help 

Capsticks’ Advisory Team has significant experience in supporting our local authority and NHS clients in respect of SEND provision, including responding to challenges to EHCPs; SEND Tribunal cases, and judicial reviews. Our Real Estate Investment team acts regularly on the acquisition, development and leasing of specialist schools and can advise on the implications of changes when it comes to commercial lease documentation.   

For any questions about the insights or their impact on your organisation, please contact Sarah Wheeler from our Real Estate Investment team for support. And our expert, Peter Edwards for advice on healthcare and other organisations regarding governance, legal powers and decision-making.