Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to understand the factors contributing to the doubling in the number of children with education, health and care plans for social, emotional and mental health needs since 2016.

Every child deserves an education that meets their needs, is academically stretching, where they feel like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work

As part of the government’s Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore the trust of parents. We will do this by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate.

The department has improved data by disaggregating the SEN2 data collection from 2023. This change enabled more detailed, pupil level analysis of education health and care (EHC) plans and the processes associated with it, providing deeper insights into specific patterns and trends to support decision-making. The annual EHC plan statistics report provides information on the numbers of children and young people with an EHC plan

International evidence indicates that the number of children and young people with SEN is also increasing in comparable countries. Although definitions and systems vary considerably between countries, the key drivers include improved understanding and diagnosis of need, as well as social and medical factors.