Matt Keer
@captaink77.bsky.social
Mostly SEND, mostly for @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social
Critical shortage of Ed Pychologists and lack of plan to expand training numbers puts #SEND reforms (Experts At Hand) at risk of being undeliverable.
English councils need to hire 1,400 more educational psychologists, says report
Rising demand from children with special needs means the £140m required could come from government grants
theguardian.com
“Slowly but surely, the state is retreating from individual entitlement-based support for disabled people across both employment and education, reframing it as a provider responsibility, without increasing provider funding, hoping we don’t notice”
Wonkhe@wonkhe.bsky.social · 4mo agoThis week on Wonkhe: A new DfE consultation would restrict DSA-funded software to "exceptional circumstances" across almost every category. Jim Dickinson adds up the cumulative impact on disabled students
Whitehall is continuing to tighten its grip on councils’ SEND functions by forcing them to agree to prioritise mainstream specialist places or face having capital cash withheld https://schoolsweek.co.uk/send-whitehall-to-leverage-capital-cash-to-force-council-mainstream-focus/
DfE leverages capital cash to force council mainstream focus
Town halls will be required to sign deal on how to spend £860m of high needs capital cash
schoolsweek.co.uk
NEW POST: @captaink77.bsky.social explains the Government's carrot and stick funding strategy as it steamrollers over dissent to its SEND reforms, without waiting for evidence or consultation www.specialneedsjungle.com/c...
New from me Things Can Get Worse. Why I'm so worried about the SEND reform direction of travel. bennewmark.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/t...
Thread #SEN : I’ve been contemplating the SEN reforms. With a limited budget, how will government ensure all schools have equal & fair access to Experts at Hand? The single Case Study cited as an example of EaH in practice has given me cause to think. It’s screenshotted below with link in ALT text /
Two-thirds of special schools (inc NMSS) over capacity ~11,000 pupils over capacity, special school places in the capital pipeline won't be enough Median number of spare places per school, in special schools that aren't over capacity = 4
Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 5mo agoSpecial schools in England are over-capacity by around 11,000 pupils, new government data shows, despite an increase in the number of settings year-on-year https://schoolsweek.co.uk/special-schools-over-capacity-by-11000-pupils/
💸 Investigation: Councils are spending up to four times as much per pupil on private special schools as state special schools, with private placement costs growing twice as fast over four years https://schoolsweek.co.uk/soaring-cost-of-private-provision-revealed-as-ministers-plan-curbs/
Revealed: Private special school costs soar as curbs planned
Findings come as the government gears up to rein in spending on private special schools
schoolsweek.co.uk
‘often by exploiting parents’ would be true if 99% of cases that reach a SENDIST tribunal hearing were meritless… …but 99% of these cases are successful, & there’s no meaningful data on what difference paid legal help makes to those outcomes: most parents are unrepresented
Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 5mo agoThe education secretary is unsurprised by criticism of proposed SEND reforms from 'vested interests' and lawyers who profit from 'exploiting parents' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/little-surprise-lawyers-and-vested-interests-oppose-send-reform-says-phillipson/
This definitely tracks with the way that SEND capital grants are being spent: lots on temporary / modular buildings, sometimes not even on the main school site because space is so tight www.specialneedsjungle.com/exclusive-la...
John Roberts@johngroberts.bsky.social · 5mo agoThe Department for Education is being warned that its planned expansion of inclusion bases for pupils with special educational needs could be thwarted by a lack of space and site restrictions in schools. www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Exclusive: More than half of free specialist school projects put on hold by the government are set to go ahead, as councils turn down alternative funding offers https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-than-half-of-special-free-school-projects-set-to-go-ahead/
Over half of specialist free school projects to go ahead
Councils faced a choice between a new school and accepting alternative funding for SEND expansion
schoolsweek.co.uk
NEW POST: @captaink77.bsky.social & @tanialt.bsky.social have some words about answering the Government’s 39 Step White Paper SEND consultation, including their—and your—use of AI www.specialneedsjungle.com/3...
Some councils will remain in financial trouble even after the government intervenes on SEND deficits – and could face clamour from families and schools to get statutory support before reforms come into effect https://schoolsweek.co.uk/will-reforms-fix-the-send-funding-crisis/
Will reforms fix the SEND funding crisis?
Councils may face a rise requests for EHCPs to secure special school places ahead of the reforms
schoolsweek.co.uk
NEW POST: We take a close look at the proposed “Specialist Provision Packages” and discover they’re more of a Trojan horse, reducing the #EHCP rights of children with SEND. www.specialneedsjungle.com/s...
I wrote about the SEND proposals in the White Paper, and my view of how we got here politically. V personal - no one's views but mine. open.substack.com/pub/jimlaude...
The White Paper
There are some good bits, but also an approach that isn't going to work for my family
open.substack.com
Children's deaths due to failures of state provision should be a massive story.
Matt Keer@captaink77.bsky.social · 5mo agoA tale of two Times SEND stories on X, the everything app: same paper, same journalist, 48 hours apart Story about spending on equine therapy - 136,000 views, 111 RTs, 95 comments, many foam-flecked Story about 20+ system-induced teen suicides - 4,000 views, 30 RTs, 7 mostly scornful comments
A tale of two Times SEND stories on X, the everything app: same paper, same journalist, 48 hours apart Story about spending on equine therapy - 136,000 views, 111 RTs, 95 comments, many foam-flecked Story about 20+ system-induced teen suicides - 4,000 views, 30 RTs, 7 mostly scornful comments
There’ll be lots of references to different pots of SEND funding today: some new, some not. Here’s a table showing recent announcements
NEW POST: Children died. The system looked away... On the day the Government seeks to slash the support rights of most neurodivergent children, accountability group Measure What Matters publishes evidence of the lethal cost of unmet need Part 1 www.specialneedsjungle.com/c...
Breakdown of the £4 billion figure leading headlines… …plus some extra work assigned to special schools that doesn’t appear to have any earmarked funding
Special Needs Jungle@spcialndsjungle.bsky.social · 5mo agoNEW POST (No 3!) Before it drops, we got a look at some funding plans in the Schools White Paper: We're grateful to @captaink77.bsky.social for giving it a once-over to see what it says so far about funding for SEND www.specialneedsjungle.com/s...
I’m only a simple SEND parent who feels things. I don’t understand big complicated policy concepts like ‘perverse incentives’ or ‘unintended consequences’ But if you make pledges like this, & you don’t implement your reforms for 3-4 years, how exactly do you expect people to respond from 2026-2030?
NEW POST: SNJ’s @captaink77.bsky.social has dug behind DfE research data into #EHCP creation times. He’s found some “deranged” numbers that can’t be real—but does the government really care as long as it gets what it wants? www.specialneedsjungle.com/s... #SaveOurChildrensRights #SENDSky
'Mainstream school appears 13 times in the new DfE estates strategy. Special school doesn’t appear once' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/dear-dfe-dont-marginalise-special-schools-and-ap/
Dear DfE, don't marginalise special schools and AP!
In their quest for inclusion, ministers must not push specialist settings to the margins
schoolsweek.co.uk
NEW POST: We’ve had a few #SEND funding-related announcements recently. SNJ’s @captaink77.bsky.social explains the cash splash: What it means and if it’ll improve provision… www.specialneedsjungle.com/s... #Disability #SENDSky
It's a year since my extraordinary daughter died unexpectedly. Re-sharing her obituary because it matters so much that the world understands who children w/ SEND actually are - especially right now when their right to the support they need in education is at risk. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Amy Reyes obituary
Other lives: Music-loving teenager who was a consummate communicator, despite the restrictions imposed on her by Rett syndrome
theguardian.com
“Under one plan discussed in government last year, the indicative threshold above which a council would fund a specific pupil would rise from around £6,000 to upwards of £40,000, £50,000 or £60,000” If implemented, that would probably impact 90%-95% of kids who currently have EHCPs
Sky News@news.sky.com · 6mo agoThe £6bn black hole that could change children's lives
Major news on SEND funding this evening… All the details here ⬇️⬇️
Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 6mo agoBreaking: The government has pledged write off 90 per cent of councils’ historic SEND deficits – estimated to be worth £5 billion https://schoolsweek.co.uk/government-to-write-off-90-of-councils-send-deficits/
Looks like Whitehall will absorb 90% of local authority cumulative DSG deficits racked up until March 2026 [conditions apply] That'll be roughly £6 billion absorbed, with a remaining ~£600m for LAs to find down the back of the sofa before April 2028
With a white paper expected within weeks, leaks to national newspapers offer only a piecemeal glimpse at what might happen with SEND reform. But in the background, local officials have been quietly instructed to start the wheels in motion now for a reformed system… schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-dfe...
DfE quietly orders councils to begin SEND reforms locally
Whitehall tells councils not to wait for the white paper or further info on deficits to get started
schoolsweek.co.uk
![Facebook journo request
***SENSITIVE SUBJECT***
£150 / ANONYMOUS INTERVIEW: MUM WHO'S CONCERNED HER CHILD'S SCHOOL BUDGET IS BEING SPENT ON PUPILS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
This is a sensitive and divisive subject, but please keep comments civil and remember there are always two sides to a debate.
Are there other, more important things you feel the school should be spending money on? For example, urgent repairs to the building/s, vastly improved food for the children, more books, computers, sports equipment etc.
If you'd be happy to chat to me anonymously, please get in touch at [email redacted] with more details and your phone number.
Key details will be altered to protect your identity and you will have copy approval.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15551307/Town-hall-spending-support-special-needs-pupils-SEND-soars-nearly-two-thirds-six-years-fastest-rise-wealthier-areas-report-finds-prompting-calls-urgent-overhaul.html](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4vbkxai2uzkroguq2apazkfb/bafkreif7mpjiwkzxs5nxch2vtix3kjs4fdlgkd4fj2camqabnpoaf5nvre)