Surge in SEND support demand leaves West Berkshire Council unable to meet targets
The authority lowered the threshold for assessment in 2024 after several families look them to court, and won, for not being granted support
The number of children getting support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has risen sharply again to a new record high, government figures show.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, there was a 12.5 per cent increase in the number of children with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – the legal documents setting out the support they are entitled to.
It is the highest year-on-year increase since EHCPs were introduced over a decade ago, with numbers now over 700,000.
West Berkshire Council reports a 58 per cent increase in the last five years and says there is continued demand, with recent data showing 1,534 children holding plans in January 2024, up from 972 in 2019.
It is also showing that it is ‘under performing’ in its own data due to the increasing numbers of requests for EHCPs while the size of the team has remained the same.
“In 2024, we lowered the threshold for agreeing to assess for an EHCP. This was due to being taken to Tribunal by parents and losing all cases.
“The consequence of this has been to drive up the number of EHCP assessments,” says the council.
“The speed of EHCP completions has been further hindered by the delay in receiving assessments from educational psychologists.”
There is a national shortage of educational psychologists, and WBC has struggled to recruit, but the council says schools generally put in place the support and provision a child needs, even before the EHCP is finalised, so delays to EHCP should not impact on a child’s ability to learn and progress.
“In the longer term, we need to work with schools, health and social care to reduce the demand for EHCPs by meeting need earlier,” added the council.
“It is difficult to predict, with the level of demand, when we might get to 60 per cent the council’s own target of EHCPs completed on time.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) said the figures “show the scale of the challenge we inherited”, adding that it was investing £4bn to bring specialist support into mainstream schools.
“We’re building a system where every school can support every child to thrive, while ensuring those with the greatest needs get the specialist help they need,” it said.
Families of children who need more support than mainstream schools usually provide can apply for an EHCP, which are designed to guarantee extra help for those who need it.
The number of children and young people with EHCPs in mainstream schools has also increased by more than 15 per cent compared to last year – with nearly half of those with EHCPs now attending mainstream schools.
It comes after the Government announced its plans to reform the SEND system earlier this year, with a focus on making mainstream schools more inclusive for children with SEND.