Council reveals big rise in children requiring additional education support in Northumberland

The number of children issued with an Education and Healthcare Plan (EHCP) by the council has increased from 1,869 in 2020 to 3,225 in 2023.

Education bosses at Northumberland County Council say the increase is not specific to the county, but instead reflects national trends.

An EHCP is a legal document which describes a child or young person’s special educational needs, the support they need and the outcomes they hope to achieve.

At a meeting of the council’s family and children’s services scrutiny committee, director of education David Street said: “We’re seeing significant growth in the number of learners in Northumberland with SEND [Special Educational Needs and Disabilities] needs, particularly our learners with social, emotional and mental health needs and learners with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). This is a reflection of the national picture and is not special to Northumberland.

“It is also reflected across the North East. It is a top priority for myself and the team.

“We have very many inclusive schools who have fully bought into delivering a fully inclusive education system. There are changes in doing that and we recognise that there might be challenges but schools are recognising that this is a local community and their job is to deliver for their local community.

“There are more happy SEND learners than ever before, but also a proportionate increase in those that are not as happy – but we are working exceptionally hard to make sure everybody who has a complaint or a query has that met legitimately as soon as possible.”

Coun Angie Scott, Labour’s shadow cabinet member for children’s services and the mother of a child with ASD, said that while first schools were performing well, children were being let down further up the education system.

Mr Street said a training programme had been developed by the council for education staff and that programme remained in continuous development to meet the needs of schools.

Elsewhere, Conservative councillor Mark Swinburn spoke out to, as he put it, dispel myths about EHCPs and SEND.