A Paradigmatic Shift
- Joel McIlven
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
We are entering a period that will see the most significant transformations in our education system, since the emergence of modern mass schooling in the late 19th Century.
The necessity of the change is driven by the unsustainable, and ineffective nature of the current SEND system; the scale of necessary reforms will fundamentally alter the entire system. This will threaten to overwhelm, but also presents an unprecedented opportunity for renewal.
The need for radical overhaul is undeniable. The current foremost driver is the pressure on public spending: The recent £5 billion government bailout of accumulated SEND debts[1], without which up to 80% of local authorities faced the risk of bankruptcy[2], will not pacify an ongoing deficit which continues to grow.
From the point of view of families, provision is often inadequate. A general shortage of specialist placements to meet current demand is exacerbated by geographical disparities. The extensive transport required to attend settings becomes a significant factor, both as a barrier to inclusion and attendance, and an additional financial burden for councils. Young people at the heart of it all, subsumed by mental health crises[3] until they end up in A&E, must wait years for a diagnosis, or even a CAMHS appointment[4].
The administration of Education, Health & Care Plans – the most important lever in the current system – fosters an adversarial posture between families and authorities. Systematic inefficiencies (generating further costs) are highlighted by the fact that 99% of families’ EHCP-related appeals are successfully overturned at tribunal[5], foreshadowing the antagonism that is emerging over imminent reforms to EHCP processes.
Statutory agencies are characterised by high rates of staff stress and attrition. A culture of relentless accountability incentivises assessment and self-preservation over meaningful relational work. The imperative of self-preservation is a challenge to establishing trust and consistency in multi-agency working. Uneven distribution compounds things further: in some cases it is impossible to find anyone who might help; in others the professionals proliferate to the point of unwieldiness. In either case desired accountability remains elusive. Allocation of resources is chaotic and dysfunctional throughout the system: as needs intensify, mainstream schools are compelled to continually cut SEN support staff; and local authorities spend tens of thousands on venture-capitalist-backed specialist school placements that children never attend.
And so we face two vital, and desperate, demands: provision must be more effective and spending must be reduced. The only way both of these can be achieved is through a systematic re-allocation of resources, which necessitates a re-ordering of objectives. The most important priority, (and measure), for schools must now become inclusion.
The consequences of this inclusive turn may potentially have a devastating impact on schools – the requirement to meet ever more ‘complex’ needs, with even fewer resources will cause chaos, turmoil and distress. The obligation to include children, who in various ways up until now have been excluded, impacts not only those children directly, but the other children and staff they must share classrooms and communities with. The reality of trying to manage schools in this context will illuminate the practices, processes and priorities which obstruct and divert inclusion. It will upset fundamental assumptions about what is possible, and desirable, for schools to achieve.
And in the unavoidable storm of radical transformation there will be hope and excitement.
We are suddenly at a moment of extraordinary possibility. Our best way forward is to begin to re-imagine what our schools are and do: What should be the purpose, structure and outcomes of education? How should resources be organised best to facilitate this? What must we abandon?
We must depend upon (and we can trust) our imagination and creativity. And we must recognise the present opportunity: to shape schools upon the values which will renew our society - to provide hope, connection, enjoyment and growth for generations to come.