Parents of Send pupils without EHCPs are least satisfied with schools, survey in England finds

Parents of children with special needs in England feel alienated from their schools if they don’t have legal protection, according to the biggest representative survey of its kind.In a finding that will cause consternation among government ministers, the survey of parents found that those of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) but no education, health and care plan (EHCP) were the least satisfied group in the education system.Last month, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, announced the government’s long-awaited Send proposals, which will result in hundreds of thousands fewer students getting education, health and care plans by 2035.The Parent Voice Project’s report, How Schools Work for Every Child, found 57% of parents of a child with Send but no EHCP rated the quality of education at their child’s school as high or very high, compared with 68% of parents of children with Send and an EHCP, and 71% of parents of children without Send.The report, based on a nationally representative survey of more than 6,000 parents, alongside the findings of focus groups, found widespread support for greater inclusion of children with Send in mainstream schools – a central tenet of government changes to the education system – but only if schools have the right resources to function well.Half of all parents said it was important for children with Send to be educated in mainstream schools, but only 52% thought teachers had the right tools to deal with Send, a figure that fell to 38% among parents of children with Send but no EHCP.“If reform can deliver earlier and more visible support in mainstream schools, many parents will welcome it,” said Fiona Forbes, the founder of the Parent Voice Project. “But the shift away from escalation will only work if families experience consistency and follow-through in practice.”Number of pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or who receive special educational needs (SEN) support, millionOne mother from Weston-super-Mare told the report there was “no thought” given to children with additional needs ahead of a crisis. “It feels like you’re constantly saying this isn’t right, this isn’t right, rather than someone sitting down and planning it … It’s a battle the whole time,” she said.Other findings suggest ministers may be on a collision course with parents over a push to tackle record levels of absenteeism in schools, with 18% of pupils classed as persistently absent, nearly double the pre-pandemic rate. Ministers have set an ambitious 94% attendance target, with strengthened support for Send and more attendance advisers.But the survey found attendance was not a major concern for most parents. Only 8% said poor attendance rates were one of the top challenges facing children, far below issues such as underfunding of schools, poor behaviour, mobile phone and social media use, and mental ill-health among young people.Asked whether children should be forced to go to school, the survey revealed significant regional variation: while nearly 60% of parents in the north-east of England believe they should be able to take their children out of school whenever they want, the percentage dropped to 37% in London.One father from Oldham said schools should adopt a “common sense” approach, telling a focus group: “If you’ve got a kid who turns up every week, Monday to Friday, they’re on time, they’re always there, then if the parents want to take them for a two-week holiday once a year, they should go for it.”Steve Mills, a headteacher and an adviser to the report, said schools had to work harder to build confidence and relationships with parents to improve attendance.“We need to make sure that, for children and parents, every day in school is a day they don’t want to miss, rather than a day they are not allowed to miss,” he said.“We want pupils running through the gates because school is exciting. I think that is possible. That’s what happens in the best schools, and parents want to see that everywhere.”