The IPPR Inclusion Taskforce

IPPR have announced the launch of a new inclusion taskforce, dedicated to developing a roadmap for reforming England's failing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The taskforce will be chaired by Geoff Barton, former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), bringing expertise and insight to this challenge.

England's SEND system is at breaking point, creating a ‘lose, lose, lose’ situation for children, their families, and dedicated education professionals. A staggering six children in every classroom now have identified additional needs, and the number of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – the most complex form of support – has doubled in the last decade.

The consequences are dire:

• for children: outcomes are unacceptably poor. Only 22 per cent of children on SEN Support achieve a grade 5 or higher in English and maths, significantly below the national average of 46 per cent. Furthermore, half of all school suspensions last year were issued to children with identified additional needs, highlighting failures in engagement and support.
• for families: the system is slow, adversarial, and deeply frustrating. Fewer than half of all EHCPs are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe, and parental satisfaction is plummeting – there has been a 180 per cent increase in tribunal cases since 2016.
• for professionals: teachers and leaders face challenges with inadequate resources and a lack of confidence in meeting complex needs. Nine out of 10 teachers report needing more support, while leaders grapple with insufficient funding, patchy external services, and barriers to delivering flexible, evidence-based support.

The IPPR Inclusion Taskforce will rigorously examine how to transform the SEND system, addressing pervasive issues such as assessment delays, patchy support, and consistently poor outcomes. The group will gather evidence from children and their families, nurseries, schools, colleges, local authorities, and all those working hard to support children with additional needs. This evidence will be crucial in developing a robust set of principles for SEND reform, aiming to articulate a positive and achievable vision for the future of education.

Further members of the Taskforce will be announced in the coming weeks.

This initiative comes at a crucial time, with the government committed to reform of the education system for children with SEND, and a schools white paper expected in the autumn outlining their proposals. The taskforce's findings, culminating in a paper in the autumn, will provide vital, independent insights to inform and shape much-needed reform.