This call for a public enquiry is the result of so many families being forced to home educate or left without an education because Local Authorities in England are letting children down through acting unlawfully.

In summary

·        Over 1.6 million children have Special Educational Needs

·        Less than 440,000 have Education and Health Care Plans

·        Families win almost 99% of tribunals taken against Local Authorities according to the latest statistics

·        Local Authorities have spent £165 million in the past year alone defending their decisions at tribunal and a staggering £600 million over the past decade with on average a 4% success rate over that period.

·        The Department for Education and other government bodies have consistently failed to hold Local Authorities to account and force them to follow the law

·        Many families and children are being damaged beyond repair by their battle to secure the support their children are legally entitled to

·        Many children are being denied an education

As an advocate for families with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), I have launched this petition after personally witnessing the staggering increase in the number of those families who are unable to access the suitable state funded education to which they are entitled.

Local Authorities (LAs) have been breaching their duties[1] by blatantly disregarding legislation put in place for special educational needs. This is a widespread problem that has arisen due to the lack of firm checks, balances and penalties within the regulatory framework.  In short, despite regulatory and government bodies having full knowledge that LAs are acting unlawfully in this fashion, not one of them is truly holding LAs to account and forcing them to act lawfully. This further emboldens those who show disregard for legislation and allows these injustices to pass without consequences.

According to government figures, in the academic year 2023/2024, over 1.6 million pupils in England have special educational needs (SEN) and only 434,354 have Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP). This leaves 1,238,851 children who have special education needs with no plan.

On the 12th December 2024 HM Courts and Tribunals issued their annual statistics about the activities of the special education needs and disability first- tier tribunal service (SENDIST). They reported that, for the academic year 2023/2024, 98.7% of all LA decisions relating to children’s education and health care plans were overturned.

The cost to the public purse of “defending the indefensible” equates to a staggering £165 million in the last academic year alone and more than £600 million over the past decade. It is estimated that local authorities allocated £153 million of resources to their tribunal appeal defence budget in 2023/2024.

Since the SEND reforms were implemented in 2014, LAs are thought to have used over half a billion pounds of public money defending SENDIST Tribunals, scoring on average 4% success rate at hearings over that period. That success rate has dropped to around 1.3% in the last year reported.

Parents don't really win anything at these unnecessary tribunals - they lose their hearts and souls, many suffer from nervous breakdowns , parents often separate due to the immeasurable pressure they are placed under, the cost to families is significant trauma and long term irreparable damage .

 

This evidence of systematic, collective local authority misuse of funds and deliberate rule-breaking for short term relief is staring us in the face. The endless examples of unethical, unscrupulous and often unlawful practice repeatedly undermine public confidence in public services and the government.

The DfE and other bodies have avoided scrutiny by deflecting attention through the introduction of poorly written legislation into Parliament, which then has to undergo intensive and time-consuming statutory processes. It has become clear that there is no real intention to improve the lot of these families and they constantly promise more support whilst enabling LAs to treat families with disdain.

Children with special educational needs are being denied their legal entitlement to receive a full-time suitable education. In desperation, tens of thousands of families are removing their children from school due to unmet needs, trauma and local authority unlawful behaviour. LAs are neither acknowledging or dealing with the consequences of their actions, which are significant long-term harm to millions of families supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities and the under-education of the children. This situation is unacceptable, indefensible and avoidable.

The revolving door of poorly written legislation, endless consultations and reports which merely serve to highlight the issues but do not lead to solutions, must stop.

Parents are heartily sick of being blamed for the broken system. They are fed up of having their concerns and issues dismissed. They don't want yet another consultation. They need action and change.

A Public Enquiry into the misuse of SEND funding would bring to light the unlawful practices currently undertaken by LAs and lead to better use of funding, ultimately saving the public purse millions of pounds and ensuring we move forward to meet the needs of these children abandoned by the state. It would lead to proper parliamentary scrutiny and, we hope, a system that includes the checks, balances and penalties so sorely lacking at present.

[1] S.11 of The Children’s Act 2004 -  Places a statutory duty on key organisations to make arrangements to ensure that in discharging their functions they have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children .

Signed By The Administration Team - Home Education UK (HE UK FB Forum Group)

 Co - Signed By Alison Sauer, Chair  - The Centre For Personalised Education.