According to union research, one in three teachers say they don’t have a behavior support team for students with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and one in four say they don’t have one. There are no educational psychologists or speech therapists who can help.
The online poll, which took responses from 8,000 members of the National Education Union (NEU), found that seven in eight teachers feel there are insufficient resources to meet growing demand, and a quarter 3 indicated that they requested an increase in the number of learning support assistants in the classroom.
Two in five (41%) say they do not have access to a counselor or occupational health professional to support students with Send, and more than half (56%) say they do not have access to a counselor or occupational health professional to support students with Send. I answered that I am not confident that a referral for support will lead to a problem. The student is getting the help he needs.
One respondent complained that students had to wait six years for support, saying it “means students don’t get the help they need until it’s too late.” Another said: “A waiting list means some children will never be seen again. They will “age out” and join the adult waiting list. ”
Another NEU member said: “The current system is failing children.” “We don’t have the resources, environment, skilled staff, or time to support these students. Funding is woefully inadequate to pay for support for children with high needs. This depletes the school budget and negatively impacts all other students.”
Regarding education, health and care plans (EHCPs), legal documents that set out children’s needs and the additional professional support they require, one contributor said: It will be rejected or nothing will change. ”
Another said: “We are drowning. Children are not getting what they need or deserve. Parents are not getting what they need. Those in charge should be ashamed.”
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said it was “shameful” that the government had done little to help schools and local authorities cope with the growing transmission challenges.
“The send funding crisis has been going on for far too long,” he said. “This problem weighs heavily on schools that want support but are reaching their limits. I am witnessing it.”
He called for more funding from the government, saying: “It is in everyone’s interest, in school communities and governments, to fully fund school education and ensure children’s participation is not put at risk through cuts alone. ” he added.
The results of the poll of NEU members in England and Wales will be announced at a meeting of delegates on the second day of the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth on Thursday, where the send funding crisis will be It will be discussed.
The motion warns that the situation is becoming critical and calls on unions to lobby the government to increase funding for remittance payments.
It added: “Children and their families are being let down by a system that appears to ignore its impact on future generations.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want every child to have the chance to fulfill their potential, which is why we are investing £10.5 billion in funding for young people with complex needs next year. “This is a 60% increase over the past five years.” .
“We are aggressively implementing our Send and AP (Alternative Provisions) improvement plans to transform systems across the country through early intervention, consistently high standards and reduced bureaucracy.
“We are working to train thousands of staff to ensure children get the support they need. This includes investing more than £500 and increasing the number of teaching assistants by 59,600 from 2011.”
