As the latest Children Commissioner’s School Census (2025) makes clear, our schools and local authorities are facing unprecedented challenges in supporting children with additional needs. The number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen sharply, with a 10.8% increase in January 2025 compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the government predicts this trend will continue. In the 2024/25 academic year, 14% of pupils received SEN Support, and 5% had EHCPs.
Autistic spectrum disorder remains the most common primary need for children with EHCPs, while speech, language, and communication needs are most prevalent for those receiving SEN Support. While dedicated funding streams such as the pupil premium, SEND funding, and support for looked-after children provide vital resources, the system is under strain.
Nearly all schools report funding as a major barrier – 95% of primary and 94% of secondary schools. Staff capacity is also stretched, with 78% of primary and 74% of secondary schools highlighting this as an obstacle to providing the support children need.
Many of the most vulnerable children, those experiencing trauma such as bereavement, abuse, homelessness, or parental incarceration, often remain unrecognised or are pushed into the SEND system. SEND frameworks are not designed to meet these broader needs. With non-statutory early intervention funding having fallen by 42% since 2010, families and schools often have no alternative support routes.
The upcoming Schools White Paper coincides with the Children’s Commissioner’s recommendation that schools broaden their focus on children with additional needs, both inside and outside the classroom. The current system is limited: it is designed to address only a narrow set of needs and does not provide schools with a full picture of a child’s life or an easy way to coordinate with other state services. Ofsted currently defines “disadvantaged pupils” in a way that restricts support to those with specific needs tied to pupil premium criteria. This approach is outdated. The education system should instead recognise and respond to a wider range of additional needs, including those of disabled children, children with learning difficulties, and those facing diverse barriers to learning.
The consequences of the current approach are profound. Children may be labelled with a SEN diagnosis simply to access the support they need, while delays in assessment and long waiting lists leave children without vital help for months or even years. Complicating matters, SEN and trauma can present in very similar ways. A child’s hyperactivity, withdrawal, emotional outbursts, or learning difficulties could stem from SEN, trauma, or both, yet the system often treats these as separate or mutually exclusive issues.
This reliance on a deficit-based model is deeply concerning. It asks children to prove limitations or receive formal diagnoses in order to access support for natural responses to life’s challenges. It delays interventions that could prevent lifelong difficulties and places undue pressure on families.
At KidsAid, we believe every child deserves timely, appropriate support—regardless of labels. The current system often makes this challenging, which makes it all the more important to advocate for broader funding, early intervention, and holistic approaches that recognise the full spectrum of children’s experiences. Support should be driven by children’s needs, not their diagnoses. As Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, highlights, children should not feel pressured to obtain a medical diagnosis for behaviours that are natural responses to life’s challenges. No child should ever feel that they are the problem for feeling sad, struggling, or simply being different.
The 2025 Schools White Paper will outline the UK government’s vision for improving standards and outcomes for all pupils, with a particular focus on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We hope its proposals directly address the needs identified in the Children’s Commissioner’s School Census, because we must act now to ensure children receive the support they deserve, before these numbers rise further and more young people fall through the cracks.