What has happened to SEND services?

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services have faced challenges in recent years, which have been a reflection of the national picture.

Local authorities and charities which provide SEND support have struggled with staffing and funding at a time when the cost of support has regularly outstripped the funding councils receive from central government, leading to rising debts.

On Monday the government said it will spend £5bn to pay off 90% of the debts English councils have built up.

Meanwhile charities working in the SEND sector say they are struggling for funding as Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) said on Monday it would shut in March after nearly 50 years.

The government is expected to outline reforms to the SEND system in the next few weeks but how does it look in the south?

West Berkshire District Council announced on Monday that it had to temporarily close the Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Unit at Kennet Valley Primary School near Reading.

It said this was due to "ongoing staffing difficulties," which were a reflection of the struggle specialist units were facing nationally with "recruitment and retention".

The council said it was "working to put in place alternative provision for all of those children affected as soon as possible" and it hoped to reopen the site in the future.

In June 2025 the council had projected debt of up to £37m in SEND schools provision.

Councils say staffing issues are being compounded by "ever‑escalating demand" for SEND support.

Oxfordshire County Council said one response has been the expansion of "enhanced pathways" - small‑group provision for SEND pupils within mainstream schools.

There are 40 in place, with more due to go to cabinet for approval.

The council was rated by Ofsted in 2023 as failing most children with SEND, but a 2025 revisit by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission found the local partnership had taken "effective action" to improve.

Responding to the government's support package for councils, Councillor Sean Gaul, cabinet member for children's services, said he "broadly" welcomed it.

He said the council had built a risk reserve to manage SEND overspends but warned it was "not out of the woods", with no clarity yet on future funding. He hopes the forthcoming Schools White Paper will provide detail and wider reforms

The government is due to publish its Schools White paper later this year, but ahead of that it has set out a 10‑year plan to modernise school and college buildings, with a focus on improving inclusion for pupils with SEND.

Under the plans, all secondary schools will be expected to have an "inclusion base" - dedicated spaces where pupils can access support away from busy classrooms.

This comes after 11-year-old Monty from north Dorset started a petition calling on the government to ensure there is a sensory area in every classroom for children with SEND.

The primary school student said: "Loads of autistic people struggle at school."

He added that it was "hard to focus or feel comfortable in traditional learning environments that aren't designed to cater to children like me".

About 1.7 million pupils in England - roughly one in five - receive SEND support, and 483,000 (5%) have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

In total, 639,000 children and young people up to age 25 now have an EHCP, more than double the number a decade ago.

The rise is driven largely by increasing autism diagnoses, now the primary need in a third of all plans.

Hampshire County Council said it has more than 20,500 children currently with an EHCP, which is an increase of 243% since 2015.

The council says it is pushing ahead with major SEND reforms including delivering 1,000 new specialist places by 2030.

It welcomed the government's pledge to cover 90% of the high-needs deficits accrued by local councils but cautioned that the "write-off" of debt was not automatic and "the timing of when the cash will be received is also not yet clear".

It warned that even after this support it will still face a £35m gap which needs to be funded by April 2028 and it cannot afford to pay its share of the deficit, after years of plugging budget gaps.

"By 2027/28 we expect our reserves to no longer be sufficient to help us balance the budget if needed," the council said.

Charities filling gaps in the SEND system say they are also struggling.

AFSO said on Monday it would close in March after 48 years unless it secures new funding.

CEO Gita Lobo said "contracts [are] drying up" after "many years of squeeze", leaving the charity with a "huge deficit" for the next financial year.

AFSO supports more than 4,000 families and some parents described it as "an invaluable lifeline".

Its announcement follows the sudden closure of Autism Oxford UK in October.

Dingley's Promise, which runs 12 specialist early‑years SEND centres across the south, including in Berkshire, Hampshire and Dorset, says the financial situation is "really challenging", with some parts of Berkshire its "biggest concern".

The charity supports children and families directly and trains staff in mainstream settings.

Chief executive Catherine Mole said their work "cannot be understated", with many parents arriving "in tears" and feeling "isolated".

She warned they "desperately need more secure funding" so services can operate without "scrambling around for funding".

Much of its income comes from councils, and Mole said relying on donations alone would make its work impossible.

She hopes that as councils receive government help with debts, they will "build a more sustainable system", including stronger early‑years funding.

"You save money if you actually address issues in the early years," she said.