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City slowest in country for SEND assessments

Ana da Silva
BBC News, Bristol
Paul Barltrop
Political editor, West of England
Getty Images Two boys sat at table with rainbow shapes on their school desk to play with. You can only see their hands and the top of their chest.Getty Images
Parents are feeling frustrated as they attempt to secure educational support for their children

A city council has been criticised for being the slowest in England to assess children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

In February, just 1% of assessments for Education, Health and Care Plans in Bristol were carried out within the official 20-week deadline.

One Bristol mum, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I don't think they realise the impact it has on families. There are children who are regressing. There are children who, because they wait so long, end up on medication."

Bristol City Council said it is struggling to deal with an increase in demand and was hiring more specialist staff to deal with the backlog.

Part of Bristol City Hall pictured from the green lawn on College Green, on a sunny day
Fears local councils could go bust due to soaring demand to help children with different needs

The Bristol mum said she feels "frustrated" with the council as she continues to try and secure help for her son.

"It's just dysfunctional. There's a lack of communication," she added.

Assessments for Education, Care and Health Plans should be carried out within 20 weeks but, nationally, councils only manage that in 50% of cases.

In Bristol, the figure dropped to 1% in February and it is now edged up to 3%.

Christine Townsend, the council's executive member for education, accepted that the city has performed poorly.

"It's absolutely not good enough," she said.

Ms Townsend added that assessment requests have increased by 32%, compared with a national rise of 11%.

"That puts a huge number of people on our front door asking for an assessment," she added.

Another challenge is a shortage of education psychologists, and the council is proactively recruiting specialist staff, she said.

A woman is handling pieces of Lego which are spread over a coffee table but you can only make out her hands, arms and part of her torso as her identity is hidden
The government said it was rolling out a new plan for Send children soon

Nationally, the demand for Send children has more than doubled in a decade.

As a result, the amount councils need to spend on it has grown faster than the funding they receive from government.

Councils have been allowed to overspend on special needs, but they have been warned that as things stand they could go bust.

Education minister Stephen Morgan is responsible for Send provision and acknowledged that change is needed.

"We announced more money for Send in the Budget last year, we're rolling out a plan around special needs provision across schools, and we'll be announcing more in due course," he said.

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