Families relocating into the UK with SEN children will be facing challenges and potential delays in getting their children assessed and placed in specialist provision schools, either dedicated specialist schools or resource bases in mainstream schools.

Increased demand for SEN assessment – largely driven by the option for parents to “self-refer” special educational needs – has meant that local authorities are struggling to keep pace with SEN assessment requests.  There has been a 140% increase in children with Education, Health and Care Plans over the past decade, and over the same period a 60% increase in SEN funding.

Source: IFS, 2024

Providing for a child with EHCP in a mainstream school costs nearly £20,000 a year, compared with £7,500 for other pupils. In a state-run special school the cost is £23,900, but increased demand means that 10% of children with EHCPs now go to private schools, costing £61,500 per year (with the these children also not exempt from the new VAT charges on schools fees).

The UK government has announced a £1 billion uplift in funding for SEN provision in schools though how this funding will be supported with councils under broader spending restrictions is unclear.

We are seeing a number of Education Health and Care Plans applications being delayed and rejected, as well as additional support for children in mainstream schools being denied.  Local authorities are also increasingly relying on forcing families to request a judicial review  (including a large lawyer’s bill) to get their child the education support that had been outlined in the EHCP.

What can parents new to the UK do to navigate this?

The first essential is  to to ensure that they have all their SEN paperwork up to date and readily available (and certified translated if not in English).

Consideration should also be given to where a family chooses to live – some local authorities have stronger and more efficient SEN teams, others a better array of possible SEN schooling options.  Wherever they choose to live they then need to be contacting the correct person within the local authority SEN team who can move their case forward.

Finally, not to be either overly encouraged or discouraged by online networks of friends and local contacts.  Every child is different, so every individual case will be handled differently so parents should be prepared to focus on their child’s requirements.