Parents gathered across England this month to place small pairs of shoes outside council offices. The shoes, tagged with names, symbolise children with special education needs and disabilities who have been failed by the system.
Paula Rice, from Horley, Surrey, whose son Liam was left without education for more than two years, said the failures in the system for pupils with special education needs and disabilities (Send) were “traumatising” for families.
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The National Audit Office has warned that the special educational needs system is financially unsustainable, with a budget rising to about £11bn in 2024-25. Councils providing for Send pupils face cumulative deficits of more than £8bn in 2025-26, with many described as being on a financial cliff edge.
Amerdeep Clarke, the local government and social care ombudsman, said the rising number of complaints involving Send provision and the proportion upheld reflected a system “in crisis”. New figures reveal that this year the ombudsman has concluded 1,191 investigations into Send provision; 97% of complaints have been upheld. “In nearly every complaint we investigate, we find some fault – and each of these represents a child or young person and their family who are not having their needs met,” she said.
“The system isn’t working for children, families or local authorities. The money just isn’t available to provide the services children are entitled to. However, many of the issues we see are due to repeated errors.”
The ombudsman examines complaints about education, health and care plans overseen by councils, but wants more power to investigate the implementation of these plans in schools.Surrey county council saw the number of complaints involving Send which were upheld rise from 26 in 2022-23 to 105 in 2023-24. It says that one of the main reasons is a shortage of educational psychologists.
More than 800 Surrey children requiring Send provision were out of school for about a third of the academic year in 2023-24, according to figures uncovered by local MPs. It has been claimed that care plans have been issued in the wrong name, described the wrong condition and offered the wrong care or support.
Chris Coghlan, a Liberal Democrat MP, said he was concerned that some failures involved alleged misconduct. “The system is overwhelmed and chaotic,” he said.
He has published testimonies from more than 650 families from across the country, describing their experiences of trying to obtain Send provision. Many described a prolonged withholding or refusal of support, with a pattern of alleged unlawful and obstructive practices.
One of the cases examined by the ombudsman earlier this year involved Stockton-on-Tees council which wrote to 100 families, claiming untruthfully that their education, health and care plans had been reviewed. The failure was discovered after a mother complained that her teenager had been out of school for a long period because the education plan had not been updated.
Jonathan Hulley, Surrey county council cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said the council recognised that the number of upheld complaints in 2023-24 was higher than it should have been. The majority related to education and care plans provision and the number of upheld complaints in this area fell by nearly a quarter in 2024-25.
Hulley said: “The government has recognised that Send is a broken national system in urgent need of funding and reform but we've made huge strides in Surrey. In the six months from January to June 2025, over 90% of our assessments for education health and care plans were completed within the statutory timeframes, which is well above the national average.
Lisa Evans, leader of Stockton-on-Tees council, said it accepted the ombudsman’s finding on the letters sent to about 100 families. She said: “We were committed to learning from this case and carried out a comprehensive review, creating a robust action plan which has seen us strengthen systems, processes and communication with young people and their families.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government inherited a Send system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to secure the right support.
“We’re determined to put that right and deliver a better system that supports children and families at every stage.
“We have already carried out over 100 listening sessions with families, and ministers will be leading the engagement with more parents to make sure we deliver better outcomes for every child.”
An education white paper outline reforms for Send was planned for this autumn, but has been delayed until next year.
Photograph: James McCauley/Getty Images