Nine in 10 teachers said the number of children they teach with special needs or disabilities has increased in the last five years.
The special educational needs and disability (SEND) system is “on its knees” amid rising demand and falling support, the NASUWT teaching union has said.
More than four in 10 (43 percent) say that the number of specialist support staff has decreased in their schools over that same timeframe. Just 3 percent say they always receive the support they need to teach children with SEND.
Against this backdrop of a fall in support is a reported rise in demand. Nine in 10 said the number of children they teach with special needs or disabilities has increased in the last five years. In addition, 95 percent said that the needs of those pupils have become more complex.
A high proportion of teachers also said that workloads have increased because of the rise in the number of children with SEND. More than nine in 10 (94 percent) said they are dealing with more paperwork, and 91 percent said their workload has increased as a result of underfunding in specialist services.
Major Challenges
The poll was released ahead of NASUWT’s annual conference in Liverpool, where members will debate and vote on a motion this weekend calling for the government to develop a plan to meet the growing demands on the SEND system.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT, said: “The government has inherited a SEND system on its knees.
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“Our latest survey findings point to the major challenges that will need to be overcome if any reforms to SEND provision are to be successful.
“Any plan for rebuilding trust and confidence in the SEND system must be properly resourced and integral to wider reforms to curriculum and assessment, inspection, accountability and measures to tackle the teacher recruitment and retention crisis and the ambition to recruit 6,500 more teachers.”
1.6 Million SEND Pupils
According to government figures, in 2024 there were over 1.6 million pupils in England who have special educational needs, up by 101,000 on the year before.
This includes 434,354 pupils in schools in England who have EHCPs, an increase of 11.6 percent from 2023.
School children playing during a break at a primary school in Yorkshire, England, on Nov. 27, 2019. Danny Lawson/PA Wire
EHCPs outline the needs and support for children with SEND and are assessed and paid for by local authorities.
However, councils have been warning that they are struggling to pay for the growing costs of the special educational needs system.
£1 Billion Invested in SEND
A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: “The evidence is clear that the SEND system has been left on its knees—with too many children not having their needs met and parents forced to fight for support.
“It will take time, but as part of our Plan for Change, we are thinking differently about what the SEND system should look like, to spread opportunity, restore the confidence of families up and down the country, and deliver the improvement they are crying out for.”
She added that the DfE was making progress by investing £1 billion into SEND and £740 million to encourage local councils to create more specialist places in mainstream state schools.
Recruitment and Retention Crisis
Roach also highlighted that tackling the “teacher recruitment and retention crisis” was critical for wider education reform.
The government said it was taking action to ease workload pressures, support teacher well-being, and increase pay.
The DfE said work has begun to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers, with the department pledging £233 million “to get more talented people at the front of our classrooms driving high and rising standards for children.”
PA Media contributed to this report.