Scrapping EHCPs must lead to Inclusive Education

ALLFIE is responding to news reports which suggest that the government are considering reforms to the SEND system including scrapping EHCP entirely. In response to this, our primary concern is the ongoing failure of the education system to adequately resource and support Disabled children and young people. This systemic failure continues to deny children and young people of their right to Inclusive Education and forces families into a traumatic, exhausting struggle to secure their child’s human rights. 

ALLFIE has always expressed concern about the needs-based approach which is primarily premised on resources and support that are available. The whole process of assessment is rooted in medical and deficit models that are not grounded in social justice or the right to Inclusive Education. The problem with needs-driven assessments is that they rely on bureaucratic evaluations, eligibility thresholds, and means-testing methods resulting in dehumanising experiences. 

These assessments are unstable, reactive, and reinforce discriminatory policies and practices. As a result, the education of Disabled children and young people is too often viewed as ‘charity’ rather than a human right and an entitlement. Needs-based systems ignore the systemic barriers that lead to discrimination within the education system and are usually disproportionately distributed towards families who have financial means and access to legal representation. 

ALLFIE believes the current SEND reform process and conversations about scrapping or restructuring EHCPs are not about providing Inclusive Education for Disabled children and young people. Instead, they are about balancing the books which is yet another attack on Disabled people’s rights to live as equal citizens and be included in society with dignity and humanity.  

Any changes to SEND support and ending of EHCP’s, we argue, must be intentional and focused on building a universal Inclusive Education system. This system should be based on the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) on article 24 (Inclusive Education), where all schools and colleges are resourced and supported that guarantees every child and young person receives their entitlement to Inclusive Education within an ordinary setting. 

The government must end individualised, needs-based and deficit models. These models are fundamentally flawed they create barriers and bureaucracy, and they undermine the use of public funding by treating the education of Disabled children and young people as a “need” rather than a right, devaluing their place in society. 

We need an education system that promotes systemic change, addresses inequality, and prioritises those who experience the most barriers without excluding others. The government must uphold rights, and the public must be able to demand justice through a framework that recognises Disabled children and young people’s education as a right and not a ‘special favour’. 

The government must end the cruel and harmful needs-based practice and replace it with a rights-based approach to Inclusive Education that guarantees support for every child and young person within mainstream settings.