FFT analysis shows growing hole in provision for pupils with EHCPs
Think tank FFT Education Datalab has recently published an analysis of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in schools.
Reviewing Department for Education data on SEN provision, Chief Statistician Dave Thomson highlights trends since 2007 showing that children with more complex needs are increasingly attending special schools, rather than secondary schools.
The DfE data illustrates that the percentage of pupils with EHCPs in special schools has increased, while the proportion attending secondary schools has dropped. The percentage of the same category of pupils in primary schools has remained largely constant.
The latest DfE projections for Years 7 to 11 estimate that the state-funded secondary age (11-15) population will grow by 15% (427,000 pupils) between 2018 and 2027. If we assume the same proportion of these will have EHCPs, that’s roughly an extra 15,000 pupils. The underlying data behind the population projections anticipates that special schools will take 9,000 of them. Given that the average special school has 117 pupils, that’s almost 80 schools’ worth.
If mainstream schools are expected to absorb the remaining 6,000 pupils with EHCPs, this will reverse many years of declining numbers of pupils with statements/EHCPs.
This raises several questions, not least whether mainstream education providers have sufficient resources and expertise to continue catering successfully for pupils with EHCPs, and whether there is adequate funding available to make such provision sustainable.
Read the full article on the FFT Education Datalab website here.