Children with special educational needs (SEND) living in affluent areas are more likely to get a precise diagnosis and a proper plan for support from their local council, a new report has found, amid fears of a “rationing” of support in poorer locations.
Research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) shows that those with SEND in wealthier parts of the country have a higher chance getting an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which entitles them to more support.
The government published its SEND improvement plan in March, three years after a review into provision was first launched.
During an education committee hearing in which MPs questioned then children’s minister Claire Coutinho on the plan, Ian Mearns described a “massive rationing process” in deprived areas, due at least in part to “huge high needs deficits”.
