School standards minister dodges question from disabled boy about future of his education

A Labour education minister has refused to deny plans to reform education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for students with special educational needs, after she was challenged by a young person fearing his plan will be taken away.

Catherine McKinnell, who is the minister for school standards, was asked the question by 15-year-old Riley Holden in a special edition of the Big Issue, which has been created by young people from disadvantaged areas. It’s on sale now from your local vendor or available via the Big Issue Shop.

Riley has cerebral palsy and since 2022 has struggled with low mood, anxiety, anger and mental health issues. His family have tried to get him an autism diagnosis which has been refused by local services, who cite the support he’s supposed to receive at school through an EHCP.

An EHCP can be key to getting through school for many pupils with special needs. If special educational needs child requires additional support beyond what a school is able to provide, they can apply for an EHCP. Following an assessment, this plan sets out the child’s needs and often comes with extra funding.

Read more:

• Teachers forced to choose which special needs children get help as funding crisis worsens
• ‘You’re not a priority if you don’t have money’: Student told to wait till 2043 for an autism assessment

In this week’s Big Issue, Riley challenges McKinnell on the shortcomings of his own EHCP and the rumours that they will be taken away as part of Labour’s SEND education reforms, which was first reported by The Guardian last month. But the minister dodged his question.

“I have an EHCP and there’s a rumour going around that it will be taken away. Will it be taken away?” Riley asks McKinnell.

“To be honest, I don’t want to get ahead of what we might do exactly to fix the system,” the minister responds. “I guess what you’ve said, though, is that you don’t always get the support that you hope to get and you think you need.

“We want to fix the challenge that you’ve outlined, which is that all children get the support they need and that schools are being supported to provide that. We want as many children as possible to be in their local schools so they don’t miss out on building friendships and having a brilliant education.

“Some children absolutely need to be in a special school if they have complex needs. But actually, if there’s the right support, you can have a brilliant education in a mainstream school. We think every child should have an excellent education and all the opportunities that come from that. That’s not happening at the moment, so we want to change the system.

“How exactly that will work, we haven’t finalised those plans. But even this conversation is part of making those plans.”

Riley also highlights how his school has failed to deliver the recommended level of support in his EHCP. “In my EHCP, I’m supposed to have a one-to-one in all my core subjects, but it’s not being met. It’s more like one to the whole class. I don’t like going to school, because I don’t really understand what’s happening. My school is a small school and there’s not enough teaching assistants.”

McKinnell responds: “I find that really concerning to hear. You’ve got an EHCP, which is great. There’s an awful lot of young people who don’t get them in a good time, and often a huge amount of time and energy goes into creating the paperwork associated with providing that support.

“People who would be brilliant at providing support are busy doing paperwork, rather than working with young people.”

Local services are denying Riley an autism or ADHD test, citing the support he’s supposed to be receiving at school as their reasoning. Explaining this to the Minister, she concedes that it “sounds like the system isn’t working” for him.

“Far too many people are just on waiting lists for assessments for autism or for other neurological or neurodiverse conditions,” McKinnell says. “It shouldn’t be that you’re waiting for a diagnosis and not getting support in the meantime.

“We want to make sure that schools are there to support people regardless of any diagnosis. And obviously, we need to tackle those waiting lists.”

You can read the full interview between Riley and the Minister for School Standards in this week’s special edition. Buy it from your local vendor, from the Big Issue Shop or subscribe to receive the Big Issue through your door every week.

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