Barnet Council is now supporting a record-high number of children with special educational needs (Send), councillors have been told.
The number of school pupils being given education, health and care plans (EHCPs) increased by 127% between 2015 and 2024, which is above the London average of 120% but still below the national rise of 140%.
Karen Flanagan, the Send director for Barnet Council, told the children and education overview and scrutiny committee at Hendon Town Hall yesterday (Thursday 12th): “EHCPs in Barnet last year increased by 10%, so as of January we had 3,809 children being supported with EHCPs.
“Already this year, that has increased to 4,180, so it’s likely we’ll see another 10% increase if not higher at the end of this year.”
Committee member Paul Lemon questioned the projected £2.6million deficit in the council’s Dedicated Schools Grant reserve for 2024/25, which finances special needs schooling in the borough.
A report summarising the statistics stated that given the increased demand and “no matching increase in funding for councils” from the government, this was now the “single most challenging issue” Barnet Council faced.
Karen assured councillors the council was “reviewing” its spend and looking at how to use funding “more effectively” as this was “certainly not about cuts”.
She said work was being done to reduce the number of external providers the council partnered with, as well as investments in early prevention tactics to reduce the number of cases that escalated to tribunal level.
The tribunal rate around EHCP decisions was an area of concern, she said, with the rate of appeal for Barnet being 3.6%, the fourth highest in London and higher than the national 2.5% average.
When cases did go to a tribunal hearing, 98.3% of them were found in favour of the appellant, typically the parent or young person, a second report stated.
Committee member David Longstaff questioned how the council could “square that circle” and resolve more disputes between parents and the council before they enter appeals courts.
Karen said the council had taken on two new officers who were dedicated to “disagreement resolution”. But despite the mediation arrangements in place, families “quite often” chose to “skip straight” to a tribunal because they believed that route resulted in a better outcome for their child’s needs.
She said: “We want to build that trust with families in terms of conversations, and try to agree on those disagreements.
“There will be times it’s right to go to tribunal, but I think the more we can do with families the better.”
Some other council figures highlighted areas of improvement, with the rate of exclusions and suspensions among Send pupils being lower than the London and national averages.
The number of adults with learning difficulties in paid employment is twice the national average and 31% of the borough’s EHCP cohort went on to a sixth form compared to just 11.6% nationally and 20% for London.
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