Together, we make change happen

The number of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) continues to rise – more than 575,000 children now have education health and care (EHC) plans in place, and a further 1.2 million require SEND support. This growing demand coupled with inadequate funding and fragmented support systems has resulted in significant delays and unmet needs. It’s imperative that the government addresses these challenges head-on.

At Social finance we know that one of the biggest challenges facing those tasked with keeping our children safe is identifying who is at risk before crisis hits. The expected announcement of a national ​“truant register” in the King’s Speech, will not be enough to create a prevention approach that sees and supports all children, many of whom never feature in the data sets.

The new Labour government has promised a ​“skills revolution”, supported by greater devolution of skills and employment funding. They have also set a mission to break down barriers to opportunity and kickstart economic growth. This will only be possible by ensuring high quality skills and employment opportunities are available to local residents.