A large number of London boroughs are failing to meet the needs of their SEN students, the latest publicly-available EHCP data has shown.
This publicly available data shows Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) information relevant to the previous calendar year.
What is an EHCP?
An EHCP is a legally-binding document which specifies the educational and specific needs of a person aged 0-25 who has special needs and/or learning difficulties.
London local authorities have experienced an unprecedented rise in EHCP requests, with a rise of 7,414 initial requests for an EHC plan between 2020 and 2023, an approximate 61% increase.
In 2023’s data, (reporting year 2022), 19,488 initial requests for an EHCP were made across London.
This overwhelming increase has led to many local authorities not meeting the standardised goal of turning around, and issuing an EHC plan within 20 weeks.
The 20-week target
Regulation 13(1)(c) of the SEND Regulations 2014, states that a local authority must send a finalised EHC plan to the child’s parent, the young person, governing body or responsible commissioning body as soon as practicable, and in any event within 20 weeks of the local authority receiving a request for an EHC needs assessment in accordance with section 36.
Despite the legally standardised turnaround period for EHCP’s, only City of London and Barnet Council were able to to turn around and issue 100% of EHC plans (excluding exceptions) within 20 weeks.
This leaves 31 other London local authorities who failed to meet the legally standardised 20-week target.
An increased demand
Out of the 33 London local authorities, 24 boroughs experienced an increase in initial requests for EHC plans between 2022 and 2023.
Southwark experienced the highest increase in demand, with a near 42% increase between 2022 and 2023, Haringey was a close second with a 41% increase between the two years.
The Borough of Merton followed closely with a 38% increase, with Bexley next at 33%.
Harrow also saw 30% increase between 2022 and 2023.
While these five boroughs experienced the highest demand for initial EHC requests between 2022 and 2023, only two of them came at the bottom of the pile for the local authorities failing to meet the 20-week standard turnaround time.
The worst-performing boroughs
Barking and Dagenham only experienced a 1.3% increase of initial EHC requests between 2022 and 2023, yet were the worst performing borough in the capital when it came to the rate of 20-week EHC requests being met.
In 2023, (2022’s reporting year), just 14.4% of EHC plans excluding exceptions were issued within 20 weeks in the borough.
A spokesperson from Barking and Dagenham Council said: “We have seen one of the biggest rises in the country for EHC referrals, which rose by 100% in 2022 and have stayed at this level ever since,with over 600 requests in 2023.
“Despite the council increasing the size of the statutory team, caseloads are much higher for assessments and EHC Plans than two years ago.
“The same applies to specialists such as educational psychologists who contribute to the plans.
“Barking and Dagenham strives to be inclusive and to support and educate our young people locally.
“The unprecedented numbers of requests for EHC needs assessment, children and young people with EHC Plans, or transferred into the borough with EHCPs each week, has put severe strain on our schools and there is a severe shortage of specialist places despite the council working to create 60-80 new places each year.
“This further adds to the pressures on the process.
“Nevertheless, the team is working persistently and with some success to reduce overall waiting times for EHCPs.
“We are anticipating a significant improvement for the soon to be published 2024 figures.”
Southwark Council only managed to get 19.2% of EHC Plans excluding exceptions issued within 20 weeks in 2023, compared to their impressive 2022 rate of 97.9%.
This is an approximate 80% decrease in plans being delivered on time.
The best-performing boroughs
While many London boroughs failed to meet the 20-week EHCP issue time, there were a handful which succeeded.
The City of London and Barnet Council were the only local authorities able to get 100% of EHC Plans excluding exceptions issued within 20 weeks.
Wandsworth and Westminster Council managed to turn around 99.7% and 99.4% of EHC Plans excluding exceptions within 20 weeks respectively.
Kensington and Chelsea demonstrated a major advancement between the two years, managing to get 98.9% of plans turned around in 2023, compared to only 43.4% in 2022, an approximate improvement of 127%.
Impending SEND reform
These results are an evident indicator of local authorities being stretched beyond capacity.
The Treasury’s recent 2025 Spending Review, published on 11 June, allocated £547million in 2026-2027 and £213million in 2027-2028 for the reform of SEND systems to be drawn from the Transformation Fund.
The Transformation Fund is a government initiative aimed at supporting reforms in public services, particularly around SEND, and further details will hopefully be shared with councils in the autumn.
The Fund is being used to help councils manage SEND deficits as well as supporting reforms aimed at improving efficiency, early intervention and better outcomes for children with special educational needs.
While short-term improvement looks unlikely as local authorities struggle under the weight of skyrocketing EHCP applications, the Transformation Fund will hopefully begin paving the way to reform and sustainability for the UK’s most vulnerable children.
Ipsea is the leading charity in SEN law in England, and provides independent legal advice to parents of SEND children and young people.
The charity also has influence over policy at both a local and national level.
Ipsea policy manager Catriona Moore said: “The law is very clear about the timeframe in which local authorities are required to produce an EHC Plan for every child and young person who needs one.
“It’s unacceptable that children and young people have to wait so long in some London boroughs for the vital special educational provision and support they need.
“The fact that there are such wide discrepancies between boroughs tells us that some local authorities clearly prioritise support for children and young people with SEND more than others.
“Too many local authorities are failing in their legal duties to these children and young people.”
Featured image: Free to use from Unsplash
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