ITV News Regions and Nations have come together to reveal the true scale of the Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) crisis across the country.
Charities said the Spotlight on SEND investigation “should be a huge wakeup call.”
The exclusive ITV poll revealed:
- 58% of children with SEND have had to spend time out of school because their needs could not be met;
- 30% of parents have had to use the legal system to fight for provision, spending up to £50k on legal fees;
- 24% said they took out loans with banks and/or online lenders to pay for legal help;
- 27% of parents of SEND children would rate their provision and support as poor.
ITV News Regions and Nations commissioned the online survey of 1,161 parents of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across England & Wales. Fieldwork, carried out by Opinium, took place between 24th May and 9th July 2024.
NEW: A mum of a 15yo autistic boy has told me of how police came to her house when she took him out of school amid a row over classroom support.
— Jonathan Brown (@JonnyBrownYorks) July 25, 2024
It's part of a huge effort putting a Spotlight on SEND across @itvnews + @ITVX today. Full @itvcalendar piece: https://t.co/7joXa1Jh1A pic.twitter.com/yt410WJu3L
Journalists also gathered information through ITV News’ largest ever Freedom of Information project, with data from more than 100 councils, which showed:
- The number of appeals lodged against English councils over improper SEND provision rose by 80% between 2021 – 2023, as of May 2024;
- Of these appeals, the number ending up in tribunal rose by 46%
- As of May 2024, 20,834 children across England were awaiting assessment for an Education, Health and Care Plan.
- 4407 children across England with EHC plans were waiting for school places, as of May 2024
The special ran across the ITV network, from Good Morning Britain, through ITV News lunchtime bulletins across the nations and regions, on ITV’s flagship 6pm programmes and the late bulletins.
Online, ITV News is providing more in-depth analysis and an interactive map, giving viewers access to data by area. On ITVX, ITV News will be highlighting the most powerful stories, these will also appear on its social media networks.
As part of an exclusive ITV News investigation into SEND provision, we talk to parents in Cumbria who tell us they are "battling" to get the right support for their children.https://t.co/gs2S8z8JB4
— ITV News Border (@ITVborder) July 25, 2024
“This is a great example of how ITV News across the Regions and Nations can come together to focus attention on one single issue – and a very important one. The results of our extensive survey and FOIs show that thousands of parents of SEND children are facing daily battles just to get a decent education for their child – with many finding themselves in the legal system to do so,” said Guy Phillips, Editor, ITV Regional News.
“Our coverage stretches across multiple platforms – from TV to social media – and will help many parents and others be part of the discussion and debate about what needs to be done to improve the SEND provision for countless families across the UK. “
In Wales, where the devolved government has responsibility for education, ITV Cymru Wales News will put a “Spotlight on ALN (Additional Learning Needs)” to reflect the difference between the systems in each country.
Our reporter @katiecoletv features on this edition of the @itvnews Podcast- What You Need To Know, talking about the "broken" Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provisions in our region.
— ITV News Tyne Tees (@itvtynetees) July 25, 2024
This is six-year-old Sydney. He is autistic and was held back a year in a… pic.twitter.com/nw5BvL8PI6
“It’s good to see ITV News doing this research, it mirrors our own research that families with disabled children are in a desperate situation, they are struggling to get their hands on support and this means their children are missing out on education and not getting access to the vital therapies they need to thrive,” added Katie Ghose, who is CEO of Kids, one of the Disabled Children’s Partnership member charities.
“The desperate situation of families with disabled children who are struggling to get their hands on the vital support their children need, needs all the attention that we can give it, so it’s good to see this new research.”
