Almost half of children needing support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) waited beyond the legal deadline for an education, health and care plan last year.
Government data shows the number of children waiting more than 20 weeks for an EHCP increased by 35 per cent in just one year.
Councils are legally required to issue EHCPs within 20 weeks of a request, except in certain situations where an exemption is in place.
Of 62,686 EHCPs issued in the 2022 calendar year without any exemption, just 50.7 per cent were issued by the legal deadline. This is down from 59.9 per cent in 2021, and the lowest level since current records began in 2015.
Read the full article in Schools Week here.
Plan to register children not in school takes shape
A register to identify children who are not in school in England will be part of a bill introduced to Parliament on Tuesday. Read the
Family Court Annual Report: October 2023 to September 2024
Read the full report here.
Hundreds of English schools still at risk from crumbling concrete
Hundreds of schools in England are still at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete, according to previously unpublished figures. Official data, which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
