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“We are pleased the Government has acted on our call for an extension to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund and provided additional funding.

Eight in 10 councils warn they will become insolvent over mounting deficits related to the cost of supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, a new survey by the Local Government Association suggests.  

New research has found that integrated services are key to meeting the national target of achieving 75 per cent of five-year-olds with a good level of development (GLD) by 2028, but that workforce shortages and limited access to high-quality early years education are restricting progress.

“These findings drive home the need to urgently reform the SEND system. Despite spending on SEND massively increasing over the last decade, the educational attainment of children with SEND has failed to improve, while councils continue to build up huge deficits related to SEND spending.

“As part of reforming the SEND system, it is vital that our education system becomes more inclusive, so that more children with SEND can attend their local mainstream school.

“With more children needing help with increasingly complex and challenging needs, what is most important is ensuring they get the best care and support. No council wants to place a child in an unregistered setting, and it is extremely concerning that in many cases, a lack of choice means provision is not fully meeting children’s needs.

"Inspections and greater transparency will support improvement in educational standards, the identification and resolution of patterns of concern, and enable greater learning between trusts.”

“We are pleased government has introduced measures so that young people leaving care do not have to pay for prescriptions, as well as dental and eye care.

“While it is encouraging to hear that the majority of children in care say life is getting better, clearly this important report highlights areas of concern, in particular the decline in wellbeing for care leavers.

“Councils are working hard to use their finite resources in the best way possible to meet their legal duties to support children and young people with SEND."