Over 1.5 million school pupils in England have special educational needs.
Most are assisted through SEN support in schools. But there are more than half a million children and young people with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP or EHC Plan).
An EHCP is a document generated by the local authority following an assessment of a children’s special educational needs and any relevant health and social care needs.
It specifies provisions which will deliver additional support to meet the pupil’s needs.
In 2022, 114,482 requests were made to local authorities for an EHCP. This is up from 93,300 in 2021 (23%).
But while the numbers of children and young people with EHCPs has gone up every year since 2010, exclusive data obtained by ITV News has found that 8,660 children in England, Wales and Scotland who have an EHCP still are not accessing any formal education.
5,254 children in England and Wales who have an EHCP don’t have a place at any school.
One of those children is six-year-old Abdul-Quddus. He has had an EHCP for over two years, but has been out of school for 23 months.
His mainstream school couldn’t meet his needs so he has been given a place at a specialist school, however it is too far away.
His mum, Dare, claims that the council have not provided a suitable school which delivers the additional support he has been promised in his EHCP.
