Councils should trial scrapping annual reviews of education and health care plans, Reform has said, as its deputy leader claimed there is a “crisis of over diagnosis” of special educational needs.
Richard Tice MP, deputy leader of Reform UK and head of the party’s ‘Department for Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) unit, has laid out more of the party’s policy thinking on SEND reforms.
While it has few MPs, the party does run several councils which are grappling with the issue.
Speaking yesterday, Rice said government should launch a trial of “schools-based” support at select councils which would involve scrapping annual EHCP reviews – in favour of key stage reviews – and home-to-school transport.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event on SEND and mental health, Tice added was a “crisis of over diagnosis” which was “in the process of bankrupting many councils up and down the country”.
Earlier in the day, Tice also told a DOGE press event he thought children wearing ear defenders in classrooms was “insane” and that “teachers want it to stop”.
A ‘crisis of over diagnosis’
Reform UK took control of 10 councils in May’s local elections, many of which have ballooning SEND deficits.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event on Monday, Tice said there is a “crisis of over diagnosis” which is “in the process of bankrupting many councils up and dow the country”.
Earlier that day, Tice told a Reform DOGE press event: “Stop labelling people. Just say, ‘You need a bit of extra support; you might need a bit of extra time.’
“You’ve got to the mad situation now where children who don’t have any form of label are starting to feel left out.
“I’ll just raise one more point: the sight of children in classes wearing ear defenders – I’m sorry, this is just insane. It’s got to stop. The teachers want it to stop. Heads want it to stop. It’s not the right way forward.”
‘Schools-based approach’
Currently, councils are in charge of issuing and reviewing EHCPs, as well as securing the right provision set out on the plans for children.
But Tice said to the Reform DOGE event: “When I talk to experts and teachers, they tell me children don’t need an EHCP report every single year that might cost between two and four thousand pounds each one.
“You do the maths on nine thousand EHCPs in one council. It’s 25 to 30 million quid. It only needs to be done once every key stage.”
The deputy Reform leader also suggested it is “not unreasonable” to review home-to-school transport policies.
Speaking later at a Policy Exchange event, Tice said the system doesn’t “need therapists and psychologists writing so many reports and reviews. They’re actually spending more time doing that than doing the intervening, the support, the therapy.”
“What we do need is a much more schools based, teachers based, trusted approach,” Tice said.
When asked for more details by Schools Week, Tice said the system “doesn’t need to be as big and massive as it’s become” and it should go “back to just trusting teachers to scale the whole thing back”.
“It sounds like a little bit of a generalisation, if you’re really courageous about it, you’d say unless you can sort of clearly sense or see some form of different ability, then should assume that we’re all different, so what?”
Claims ‘stigmatise autistic people’
Tice said all ten Reform councils were interested in trialling any potential reforms, which he said should be based on cross-party support.
“Join a trial, let’s have a cross party trial.
“You could take one or two councils with are led by each of the parties. And you could say for a year or 18 months, we’re not going to do annual EHCP reviews. We’re not going to allow taxis to take those children to school.
“Why? Because actually children are better off being taken to school by their parents, or with friends, which does bring me on to the whole issue of the school transport, which needs a review.
“It’s not unreasonable to have a review. I think there is a cross party consensus that this is a crisis that is completely out of control.”
However his comments have been heavily criticised. Joey Nettleton Burrows from the National Autistic Society said Tice’s claim of over diagosis “couldn’t be further from the truth”.
“The system needs reform to meet the needs of all children, so that SEND children, including autistic young people, can access a suitable school place and thrive.
“Spreading these kinds of lies stigmatises autistic people and makes life harder for them and their families.”
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