Our response to the National Audit Office's report on special educational needs
The National Audit Office has published a new report examining the value for money of the special educational needs system in England.
Responding to the report, Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, said:
The findings in this report will come as no surprise to many thousands of autistic children and young people and their families. It catalogues a litany of failures but most damning of all is the fact that outcomes for young people with SEND have not improved, meaning these young people are still more likely to leave school with no prospect of a job or further education or training.
Meanwhile parents continue to face an enormous battle to get their children the support they deserve in an ‘increasingly adversarial’ system. It is no wonder that young people and their families have lost confidence in the system.
This Government must do more to fix the unsustainable problems within the education system, but any reform must protect and prioritise young people and families’ existing rights to support. We urge decision-makers to work with autistic children and young people and their families to shape a future system that works for all.