Stockton-on-Tees Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Market Position Statement 2025 to 2026

Across the country, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system is facing big challenges. Some of the main reasons are:

• more children are being identified with SEND - the number of pupils with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans is growing much faster than the overall school population
• more children need specialist support - many children cannot have their needs met in mainstream schools and this has led to a big increase in placements in special schools outside the council area
• costs are rising - more money is being spent on SEND, but it is still not enough and this creates big budget pressures for councils, schools, and health services
• outcomes have not improved - children and young people with SEND are not seeing better results overall

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is facing the same challenges as other Councils. Over the last year, we have worked together with families, schools, and health partners to:

• create more school places locally for children and young people with SEND - we changed our model to add new SEND units and resourced provision and this has created 155 extra places for children who need support
• improve alternative provision - we reviewed and reshaped our model to give better help earlier
• develop early support pathways - these help identify needs quickly and provide support as part of our graduated response
• produce an inclusive education framework - this sets out what schools should provide for children with additional needs from early years to post-16

Our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) looks at the health and wellbeing needs of children with SEND now and in the future. It shows:

• the number of children with SEND is predicted to keep rising
• the biggest increases will be in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), neurodevelopmental needs, and speech and language needs
• most children with SEND are in mainstream schools, but more pupils are going to independent schools compared to other areas
• needs can change over time - for example, speech and language needs often reduce, while social, emotional, and mental health needs increase as pupils move to secondary school
• some needs may not be identified because of long waiting times for assessments
• pupils with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans or SEND support have higher absence rates than other pupils - most absences are due to illness, but some are linked to issues like Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
• local partners say children's needs are appearing earlier and are becoming more complex