It is incredible what the British people see happening all around them, but refuse to recognize.
On any given day I can find stories about this new special school, that increase in demand for special education services, this local council facing millions of pounds in the red because of the soaring cost of so many disabled students, a number that’s always increasing.
On July 4th there will be a general election in the UK, and all the parties have recognized the real need to address special education concerns, but that amounts to promises of more special schools and more services without waiting lists. No one wants to look into why there is a crisis in the first place.
Here’s a look at the past several days. I started with BBC News coverage because they’re always right there giving us the figures and all the details. Of course the BBC is never really troubled by what’s happening. The why question is never asked.
6/20 BBC News:
Parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) say fighting to get their children a school place has been a "living hell”. . . .
East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it was “working hard” to create places, while Lincolnshire County Council said it had seen a “significant rise in the number requiring support”. . . .
Martin Smith, LCC’s assistant director for children’s education, said: “Over the last few years, the council has invested £100m [$130M] in improving and expanding Lincolnshire’s special schools, creating about 500 additional places.
“Demand has been significantly higher than anticipated in recent years. Lincolnshire has seen a significant rise in the number of children and young people requiring support. The number of children with an EHCP has more than doubled, from 3,326 in 2016 to 7,899 currently. . . .
Merlin Joseph, the director of children’s services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said around 3,500 children in the county had an EHCP.
“There is a national shortage of SEN placements, but we are pleased to have secured two new 120-place special free schools in Bridlington and Welton,” she added.
And here is a education magazine specializing in special needs students. They focus on the failure of the government to provide for all these students and call for change.
A total of 18.4% of children in England have some kind of special educational need- up from 17.3% in 2023.
That’s a total of 1,673,205 of children with SEND
434,354 pupils have an EHCP, up by 11.6% from 2023. . . .
While this may be one of the “plumped for” categories, the reasons behind the rise are likely to be a result of poor access and lengthy waiting lists for assessments for mental health, ADHD and autism. . . .
The assessment and diagnostic backlog is serious. Although schools do not have to wait for a diagnosis to put interventions in place, a lack of expert input and lack of resources in-school means help isn’t available. . . .
All in all, these numbers are deeply disturbing. The status quo just isn’t working. . . .
Below is a tour around the UK, mostly in England. These are the dire straits the government finds itself in, and the only solutions are spending more money, shortening the wait times and building more special schools.
Notice how prominent AUTISM and ADHD are in these reports.
“All her children having special needs”
6/23 Manchester: NW England
Parents have shared their frustrations over a lack of support for their children with special needs. . . .
Mum-of-four Sarah Kelly told us she has no intention of voting and feels let down by the entire system. With all her children having special needs. . .
Her eldest son Thomas, 15, has been diagnosed with autism and possibly ADHD. . .
Mum Lucy Hall has three children and has encountered similar problems trying to access support. Her eldest son, nine-year-old Zac has autism, but they've been on a waiting list for her middle son, seven-year-old Noah, to be assessed for ADHD since last year. . .
‘Financially unsustainable’
6/23 Yorkshire: N. England
A consultation will be launched on school transport for over 16s with special needs as the council seeks to cut costs.
Leeds City Council will review its provision of discretionary travel help for teenagers with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
The authority said the current system may not be affordable after the number of post-16 SEND students using the service doubled since 2015. . . .
“It is also financially unsustainable for the council.”
6/21 Dudley: W. Midlands
MORE than half of children in Dudley faced long waits for special educational needs support plans last year, new figures show.
Across England, the number of new education, health and care (EHC) plans rose by more than a quarter, but nearly half of all children and young people receiving one experienced prolonged waits before getting it. . . .
In Dudley, just 47 per cent of all support plans were provided within the time limit.
Nationally, 84,428 new EHC plans started during last year, up by 27 per cent from 2022. . . .
Across the country, 138,242 requests for initial assessments were made – 21 per cent more than in the year before. . .
“Hundreds of children. . .still waiting for school placements”
As reported by BBC News. hundreds of children with special educational needs are still waiting for school placements, leaving families at their wits’ end. . .
According to the Education Minister Paul Givan, there are currently 400 children in Northern Ireland waiting for a decision on their pre-school and primary place.
Dorothy Murray, one of the co-founders of SEN Reform, told BBC News NI her four-year-old daughter did not get a specialised nursery place.
Sienna, who is non-verbal with autism, was placed in a mainstream school with a one-to-one teaching assistant.
This year she is still waiting on a specialised place for Primary One. . . .
Lisa McCartney spoke about the “hurtful” process of finding out her four-year-old son is without a school place for the second year running.
She said she applied for two schools for Jamie, who has autism, but was turned down for both . . . .
“Children with ‘profound and multiple’ learning difficulties”
6/20 Lincolnshire: E. England
Lincolnshire county councillors have approved a £6.8 million [$8.6M] renovation plan for a special needs school between Boston and Spalding.. . .two of these classrooms would be used for children with “profound and multiple” learning difficulties, while the other two will be used for general SEND needs.\
6/20 Kent: SE England
. . .The Sallygate School will now be able to support up to 80 children aged 8-17 with complex social and emotional difficulties, whose needs cannot be met in mainstream education. . . .
Michele Smith, SENCO and Assistant Headteacher at The Sallygate School said: “We are absolutely delighted that we now have the capacity for up to 80 pupils onsite. . . .
“Special schools can truly transform children’s lives, enabling pupils with special education
The increasing number of children with SEND without a school to attend is a matter of concern, . . .
“Long waits for special educational needs support”
6/20 Luton: N. of London
Two-thirds of children in Luton faced long waits for special educational needs support plans last year, new figures show.
Across England, the number of new education, health and care (EHC) plans rose by more than a quarter, but nearly half of all children and young people receiving one experienced prolonged waits before getting it. . . .
Department for Education figures show 510 children and young people aged up to 25 received an EHC plan from Luton Borough Council in 2023. This was up from the 307 plans issued the year before.
In Luton, just 32 per cent of all support plans were provided within the time limit. . .
A Luton council spokesperson said: “There has been an increase in Education Health and Care (EHC) plan requests,
6/20 Buckinghamshire: SE England
Half of children in Buckinghamshire faced long waits for special educational needs support plans last year, new figures show.
Across England, the number of new education, health and care (EHC) plans rose by more than a quarter, but nearly half of all children and young people receiving one experienced prolonged waits before getting it. . . .
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The number of children needing additional support through education and healthcare plans is now at a record high. . .
He added: “The current system is simply not sustainable.
“The next government must tackle the Send crisis as a priority.”
“Further increases projected”
6/20 Shropshire: W. England
A north Shropshire school could provide specialist teaching places to children with special needs under plans being considered by Shropshire Council.
The proposal would see Morda Primary School establish an eight-pupil unit for children with autistic spectrum conditions and speech, language and communication needs. . . .
The so-called “resourced provision” places at Morda are being offered in response to a significant increase in demand in the area, with further increases projected. . . .
‘Restrained 86 times’
6/19, Wirral: NW England
Parents of children with special needs and disabilities staged a protest over their local council's "failure" to provide them with a proper education. . . .
She and other protesters said the council was "neglecting" their children's needs.
Wirral Council said it recognised required improvements have been "slow". . . .
Tina Yourelis, from Bromborough, said her ten-year-old son, who has autism, was expelled when he was four. . . .
Protester Sue Peacock, an independent SEND advocate who has five autistic children, told BBC Radio Merseyside she felt she had "missed her children's childhood fighting the local authority".
Angela Tait, from Hoylake, said her son had been "restrained 86 times" at a former school.
6/19, Farnworth: NW England
Green Fold school site will become an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) unit able to accommodate up to 85 children
Two school sites are to be expanded with more than £8M [$10M] spent creating ‘desperately needed’ places for children with special educational needs. . . .
The Green Fold site will become a consolidated Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) unit. A Bolton council planning meeting heard the work will consolidate the education provided over the two sites.
On my website, Loss of Brain Trust, https://www.lossofbraintrust.com/ I’ve covered these stories for years. They only gets worse. The numbers and the costs never decrease. By now the British people are used to it. I think they’re way past the time where the anyone asks, “Why are there always more of these children? What’s going on?”
In a world where every two years the rates of autism only increase, with no one giving us a reasonable explanation, the ordinary citizen knows it’s pointless to ask about any of this.
When the economy of the USA implodes it will take Western Europe with it. It will be a new world for everyone and when the dust settles hopefully a better one.