U.K.: "How the Special Needs Explosion is Destroying Education"
A new book points out what's happening
As the slow collapse of education continues in the U.K. (and everywhere else), there are a few voices out there asking questions and looking for the reason(s) behind all the disabled students in today’s schools.
A book just out looks at the situation in the U.K., and I especially like the title:
The Crisis in the Classroom: How the special needs explosion is destroying education - Kindle edition by Clements, Dave. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
What happens when a child struggles in the classroom?
What's it really like for children and families living with neurodiversity?
Why is there a surge in children requiring special educational support?
In this book, Dave Clements confronts urgent questions about education and the rising levels of diagnosed needs and behavioural difficulties in schools. He combines personal accounts, research, media commentary and cultural analysis to explore why there has been such a rapid growth in identified needs, while also questioning common explanations for this trend.
Clements is the parent of a child with autism and ADHD, additionally, he’s worked in the school system, so he has firsthand experience with what’s happening.
There was also an article by Clements published on July 17, 2025, by the Academy of Ideas: (40) Can we solve the special-needs crisis? - by Dave Clements
Dave Clements asks what's behind the rising tide of demand for special-needs education – and what the government can do about it.
Why is this happening? Where are all these children coming from?
These are logical questions and should be a major concern for parents, educators and government officials. Very few people, however, seem interested enough to ask.
I looked at the points Clements made in the 2025 article.
Yes, there has been an explosion in special needs students in recent years.
Yes, more and more local councils are facing bankruptcy over the cost of educating these children.
Yes, there is need for reform of the educational system in order to accommodate this population.
Clements noted that many children with significant needs are only in school part-time. Some children have no school places at all.
Clements pointed out more children have special education plans called a EHCP, which indicates significant needs. There are also more special schools, and autism is a major fact in all of this.
So, what are these needs that have become such a problem that they are threatening to bankrupt us and blight the futures of so many children? Of those with an EHCP, the most common need is a diagnosis of autism. For the larger group of children with special needs but no EHCP, difficulties around speech, language and communication needs are the most common.
What’s behind the increases?
Clements cites the impact of technology as a possible cause.
The effects of the lockdown during the pandemic may have played a role.
It may be a case of over-diagnosing.
Questions
Clements:
We need to be asking far more searching questions. Why is it that nearly one in five children have a special educational need? Why are the needs of one in 20 children deemed so significant that they have been issued EHCPs? What’s going on?
I would add to that list: What if these increases continue? What if in a year or two, one in every 3 children has a special education need? What if the one in 20 with a special needs plan eventually becomes one in 15 or one in 10?
Dave Clements isn’t alone in asking these questions.
There was a piece on April 1, 2026, from Northern Ireland where similar questions were asked by Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows.
Since 2017-18, expenditure to provide support for children and young people who have, or may have, SEN or a disability has increased from £254m [$336m] in 2017-18 to £544m [$720M] for 2023-24 – an increase of 114% in six years.
Mr Burrows told MLAs: “The exponential rise in the numbers of children with additional needs has still not been properly and strategically addressed” by politicians – a rise he said was attributable to “all kinds of reasons that comes at a huge cost”. The UUP boss said the executive “must collectively address” the issue – but that hasn’t happened.
Recent figures from the Department of Education say that since 2017-18, the number of children with statements of SEN has risen by 51%, alongside an increase of 25% in children attending special schools.
Burrows wants answers.
Can we understand what the evidence base is for what is causing it – and there was a great reluctance to have that discussed.
“And I think it's a matter that Stormont and the Education Authority and the education department – our society – should actually be asking honest questions about, and that's not about being... dismissive of things. It's not about some of the things you've heard in America about daft ideas about autism. It's not about any of that at all.
The real problem here is that those looking for answers don’t seem to want to honestly address this. Dave Clements talks about societal factors. Jon Burrows is not willing to consider the ‘draft ideas’ about autism from the U.S., which of course involves the vaccine-autism link.
Meanwhile, news outlets continue to tell us about INCREASED DEMAND and MORE COMPLEX NEEDS.
England, specifically, has had special education laws since 1970, so they should be used to providing for these children, and needs don’t become MORE complex because of better diagnosing. These kids wouldn’t have been overlooked in years past.
What should be obvious to everyone at this point is that something in the environment is damaging children worldwide, and the damage is increasing dramatically.
The evidence is everywhere. Pretending that it’s not environmental won’t solve anything.
Consider that a third of autistic children REGRESS. They start out normally developing, but suddenly or gradually lose learned skills and end up with an autism diagnosis. It’s clear something happens to these children—YET there have never been studies on this phenomenon.
Reality check: We’re doing nothing to address this.
Clements and Burrows can only expect more of the same. The increases will continue to mount. Questions will still not be answered.
I compile stories about what’s happening to children and to schools on my site LOSS OF BRAIN TRUST. Here’s a sample of recent coverage showing what’s going to continue in the U.K.
April 29, 2026, School in Norfolk town gets go-ahead for new SEND base | Eastern Daily Press
An extension at a Norfolk school so it can provide extra support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has been given the green light. . . .
Education officials at County Hall have been wrestling with increased demand and complexity of needs among SEND children in recent years, with soaring bills to transport them to and from schools.
April 26, 2026, Five more Lincolnshire schools chosen for special needs classrooms
Five Lincolnshire primary schools are set to get new facilities for children with special needs. . . .
A total of 70 places will be created with seven new hubs across the sites. . . .
Lincolnshire County Council is aiming to open more than 40 hubs at primary schools over the next two years, keeping more children in mainstream education.
April 25, 2026, Basildon plans for new SEND school and community centre | Echo
Plans for a new special needs school and community hub in Basildon to relieve "overloaded" schools in the borough have been shared with parents and residents. . . .
"Too many children leave the borough to get specialist provision, it's already creaking at the seams because it is overloaded." . .
April 24, 2026, Lancashire Evening Post: Verdict in on 'much needed' school for up to 55 children with autism in Much Hoole
A decision has been made on plans for a specialist school for children with autism.
Planning bosses have given their verdict on plans for a new specialist school for up to 55 children with autism. . . .
Owing to the nature of the proposed school there would be a high staff to pupil ratio, with it being anticipated that the school would employ up to 55 members of staff.
[40%] Two-fifths of school leaders in England have been forced to cut back on support for children with special educational needs due to a financial crisis “more than a decade in the making”, according to a poll.
Seven out of 10 (71%) leaders say they have cut down on teaching assistants (TAs) in the past year, while 49% have reduced support staff. The crisis could escalate as 81% warn of further cuts in the year ahead.
April 22, 2026, KentOnline: Principal at Five Acre Wood School in Maidstone warns of possible job losses if SEND schools aren’t given more funding
The head of the country’s largest special needs school has warned of possible redundancies amid rising staffing costs and lower-than-expected funding increases.
Five Acre Wood School in Maidstone supports 877 pupils from across Kent and beyond with severe and complex needs. . . .
She said: “There is a deficit budget in a lot of local authorities around high needs funding in SEND [Special Educational Needs and Disabilities].
Five Acre Wood School has an annual budget of £22 million [$30M] a year, with more than 85% of that going towards the salaries of the more than 500 staff who work there.
April 22, 2026, Number of Middlesbrough kids on education, health and care plans up 23% in just three years | Teesside Live
The number of children in Middlesbrough issued an ‘education, health and care plan’ (EHCP) has increased substantially. In a matter of just three years, the sum of kids who have an EHCP has gone up by nearly 400, passing the 2,000 mark - which equates to around 6% of children in the town. . . .
At a meeting of the council’s children’s scrutiny panel, on Monday, April 20, MICA Councillor David Jackson asked about the “remarkable” increase in EHCPs issued, highlighting the rise from 1,659 in 2022 to 2,040 in 2025 - a hike of nearly 400 kids (or 23%) in just a matter of three years. The number is forecast to rise by an approximate further 100 over the next two years to reach a figure of 2,147 by 2027 - a near 500 increase over just five years.
April 14, 2026, SEN school lined up in Chorley - Place North West
Plans have been lodged for the demolition of the former Minstrel pub, to be replaced by a two-storey special education facility. . . .
As set out in a planning statement provided by Holme Planning Partnership, the facility would provide education services for around 60 children with additional needs, covering children up to the age of 16, to be supported by 22 full time members of staff including teachers, teaching assistants, administrative staff, maintenance staff and other support staff.
This is just a quick look at what’s happening and will continue to happen unless people finally address this as the existential emergency it clearly is. How long this can continue is anyone’s guess, but eventually there won’t be enough money and there will be always more disabled children.
In all of my years of study, I just never expected to witness the complete moral and intellectual collapse of mainstream society, yet here we are.—Dr. Toby Rogers
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Luke 8:17: “For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light“
Hi Anne I'm reading the same book: he asks all the right questions but has no answers.
The time has come to give people answers. Our best hope is what you, Kennedy, MAHA, the IACC and others are doing in America: trying to nail down some answers. We have to hope that the new autism research funding bears fruit soon aswell.
Our children have been left to suffer while too many experts look the other way. As you know very well, the autism problem comes down to politics. It is politics that will get us out of the mess. However, I fear it may be too late for another generation of children and it may be impossible to reverse.