Children with special educational needs and disabilities are not getting the support they need and are at risk of being permanently excluded from school because of funding cuts, union research has found.
A survey of over 900 school staff in England by the NEU teaching union shows that cuts affecting SEND pupils have worsened, with half of respondents saying their school has cut support for SEND children this year, compared with 40 per cent last year.
The cuts appear to be worse in primary schools, with 54 per cent of primary respondents reporting cuts, against 49 cent from secondary schools.
Funding cuts led to nearly a third (31 per cent) of respondents saying their school has cut SEND posts this year, compared with a quarter last year (26 per cent). The situation is worse in secondary schools , with 36 per cent reporting cuts to SEND staff, compared with 24 per cent in primary schools.
A member of staff in a Sheffield primary school said: “Highly vulnerable children are now in mainstream classrooms without the significant support they need or the trained staff. These children are now at high risk of permanent exclusion.”
Government ‘failing to look after SEND pupils’
Another member of staff in a Bristol primary school said: “We have a huge number of pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs or autism and we cannot support them properly. SEND top-up funding has been reduced dramatically and so for a child that we used to be able to claim an extra £5,000 to meet their needs, we can now only get £1,001 as a maximum.”
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “If the true measure of a country is how it treats its most vulnerable, then this government is failing big time.
“Children with special needs are being let down. The government’s funding cuts are cutting so deep that schools cannot provide the support SEND pupils need and are struggling to access external support because this has been cut, too.
“The government needs to wake up to the facts and urgently make more money available for schools so they can keep SEND pupils safe and provide the help and support they need.”
Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow Tes on Twitter and like Tes on Facebook
