Midday dog walk, under the rain clouds, YES it felt that dark .

Almost daily headlines about how Special Education is in crisis in the UK. Councils can’t afford to keep up with rising demand, parents are struggling to access the support their children really need and schools are being pulled in a million directions with limited resources. The tragic result is that way too many children are being let down by the education and health systems.

But is it the real pressing thought for everyone. Is it the real issue for the Mainstream Media, the Politicians, the Service Managers and the Government.

I’m not hearing much in the debate about how we can better help the children who need the support. What I’m hearing is….

We are spending way too much on Special Education….

Special Education is diverting too many resources away from Mainstream Education…..

Pushy Parents playing the system…..

We can’t justify the rise in demand for Special Education, something is going wrong, there can’t be that number of real children needing real help…..

Why should Hard Working People have to pick up the rising bill…..

There is growing noise from Government that change is coming, but who will this change be for.

Currently there is a huge obstacle course ultra marathon which needs to be fought out for months and often years before a child is granted an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). This is a legally binding document that is supposed to ensure that a child gets the necessary support they need. The EHCPs aren’t perfect, a child can still miss out on support, but they can help. It’s a baseline to work from. Hawklad was granted one after 2 years of fighting the system, he was backed by his Doctors and Primary School. After getting the legally binding document, some support started to arrive and it really helped BUT then …

  • If services are cut completely then the support they provide is just not available. Hawklad was identified as needing help with his speech and started work with a Speech & Language Professional. Real progress was made, then the Service was cut in a wave of budget cuts.
  • Some services are stretched, with real underfunding leading to long waiting lists. Hawklad was due to work with an Educational Psychologist. In our area there were 2 Professionals covering a huge geographic area and over 300 schools. After a two year wait he received an initial 30 minute assessment then was due for further work, he was never seen again, never made it to the top of the waiting list. Some services navigate the long waiting lists by just increasing the need threshold levels. Hawklad needed help with his fine motor skills and handwriting but revised thresholds resulted in him being removed from the waiting list. Even now, he really struggles to write,
  • At Secondary School things changed, the school approach changed. In a small school he received dedicated teaching time, the move to a much larger school removed that dedicated time. The funding he was granted was given to the School and added to the general teaching support budget. Each class of up to 30 pupils had a Teaching Assistant there to support the Teacher. That support hardly ever filtered its way to Hawklad. The teaching approach was if ‘a student doesn’t put a hand up to ask for help then the assumption is the student is fine, no assistance needed’. Hawklad never put a hand up even when he couldn’t read stuff, he didn’t want to shout out in front of other children that he couldn’t read… Like many children with special educational needs, in the larger schools, they become lost, assigned to the Bottom Set.
  • At the age of 18 most support services end. It doesn’t mean the need has gone, it just means there isn’t an equivalent adult service to provide support. At 18 it’s basically ‘you are on your own now……’. Hawklad now has no support and we both can see the negative impact that is happening.

These issues are not unique to Hawklad, many are facing the same or way worse. But my fears are that the current policy change drive has nothing to do with these educational issues, improving support for future pupils. It feels more like a balancing the spreadsheet bottom line exercise. How can we cut the Special Needs Budget, how can we restrict the number of children receiving support. Maybe the Government is looking at get rid of EHCPs and the legally binding stuff, then it’s game on to make proper, real cuts.

I hope I’m wrong but it is starting to feel like even more dark clouds are rolling in for many great kids in our schooling system.

41 thoughts on “Dark clouds”

  1. The Education system is failing so many Gary. Cutbacks are being made in all the wrong places which are jeopardising our future generations. Time the politicians cut back on their own expense accounts, perks and jollies.

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  2. I’m so sorry, Gary. A quality education is a fundamental human right and it’s shameful politicians even ponder the need for special education supports. It’s not right and families and especially children in need end up suffering.

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  3. When a person of whatever age is loved; when that person is accepted as they are; and when that person is supported by someone that loves them to be themselves and do their best; then they have something so precious, something money cannot buy nor position gain and that will stay with them. Yes, life might bring things to overshadow this core, but it will be stay and love will out.

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  4. This is very worrying for parents and kids alike. For a developed country, this should never be the scenario. Funds should be allocated for special education needs. You should seriously look into moving to other countries where proper welfare programs are providing support to children and adults with special needs.

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      1. I think it’s almost certain to get a shed load worse, my friend. I don’t like what will likely happen to ultimately end this madness and bring people together again, but time and time again it has been proven that when the viciousness, divisiveness, and chaos spiral out of control, it takes a disaster of major proportions to bring people together again. xx

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  7. This is deeply concerning. It’s always driven me crazy that people will give lip service to serving children — the youth are our future! protect the children! — but then abandon those responsibilities when they need to pinch pennies.

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      1. I wish it was. Our country will also go for populations that need the most support to be successful when they need to save money. Abandoning children is particularly heinous — they have the least power to pressure the adults.

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  8. I felt so sad reading down this. I am sure no way the country is strapped enough to cut budgets from the education that helps make the future bright for the country… For them rather than fill 1 big hole….they focus on 100 small holes which have insignificant impact on the spreadsheets.

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  12. A little out of left field, Gary, but I see it as becoming more and more an option for those who can. Home schooling is growing in Australia! A drop in the bucket – 45,000 compared with 4.5 million schoolchildren. But, many are now unsatisfied, particularly those parents of special needs kids. Something must change. I don’t see it coming from government…

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  15. That’s hard on parents and children, to say the least. A small glimmer of hope for some students is that a NZ company, Mindfull, has created a school furniture range for neurodivergent students, now used in more than 100 schools worldwide. Yes, a worldwide issue is the lack of staff and funding.

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  16. This is awful, makes me so sad for Hawklad and the other children out there not getting the help they need! Special education help is not something that should be dismissed. Its a necessity and should top the list above so many other frivolous things that politicians spend money on. The government is supposed to be for the people to help the people! How can there be a bigger need than raising the future generation??? Prayers and hugs Gary!

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  17. It’s heartbreaking, it really is. I have a colleague whose son has aged out of the system, and she’s also appealing for extended aid. I’m STILL fighting for Biff to receive any help at all–like you said, handwriting matters, and they can barely write. How they supposed to function as adults when their communication skills are not where the world expects them to be?!?

    Ugh. Virtual hugs to you and Hawklad xxxxxx

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  18. This comment got me…. Why should Hard Working People have to pick up the rising bill…..

    Well, it’s not really about hard working people picking up the bill is it? It’s about more people seeing the need and desiring a better outcome for those who have special educational needs. It’s called compassion, kindness and loving support.

    I’m sorry it’s like this. I truly wish there was not only actual acknowledgement of the need, but also far more who cared about it rather than only seeing dollar signs and turning a blind eye.

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