Bridget Phillipson’s 10-year plan for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in England is a generous but risky experiment, warns John Harris. The education secretary unveiled sweeping changes, including £1.6bn over three years for early identification of needs in mainstream schools and £1.8bn for specialist staff. The plan aims to reverse the trend of children moving to special schools, which saw a 33% increase between 2012 and 2019 under coalition policies.
However, critics argue the funding is insufficient. The website Special Needs Jungle noted the £1.6bn falls short of allowing each school to hire even one new teaching assistant. Teachers fear increased workloads and inadequate training, while parents worry that mainstream class sizes and sensory overload may limit the plan’s success. Phillipson’s claim that “children do better in mainstream schools” may overlook complex human needs that sometimes require specialist settings.
The plan also faces political risks. A future Reform UK government could scrap the changes, undermining the investment. Meanwhile, the demonisation of disabled children and their parents in public discourse continues, with some media outlets promoting “overdiagnosis” theories. Labour’s inclusive vision stands in contrast to this nastiness, but the high-stakes experiment could backfire if not properly resourced.
