Protecting SEND Rights – TAs

Published: June 10th, 2025

“Parents ‘terrified’ by move to cut special-needs help” – read the recent Times headline. So, is the Government right to remove statutory education plans (EHCPs) from children in mainstream schools? A thorny question! Apparently, this issue is up for consideration. If the current Children and Families Act is amended, what might this mean for the thousands of children with SEND in mainstream? Dame Christine Lenehan has apparently stated that EHCPs were only meant for children who needed more than educational support, ie. the addition of health or social care. I was not aware that when EHCPs replaced the original statements, that this was the intention. But there is no doubt that EHCPs are not working as they should. 

There is no doubt also that some changes need to be made in order that every child achieves a personal best. And for many years, as a teacher of children with SEND (now retired) I have argued that if the non-statutory system worked effectively for every child, then far fewer EHCPs would be required. 

The current SEND system is failing. So what needs to change? For parents to trust in a system that relies mainly on non-statutory assessment, we need a complete overhaul. Ideally, only children with the most severe needs require special schooling: meaning that mainstream schools must be equipped to meet the needs of a diverse range of abilities (and disabilities), with a sufficient number of well-trained Teaching Assistants, improved training for all teachers on SEND and a more involved/supportive role for parents. A tall order indeed! 

In my view, TAs are worth their weight in gold many times over, and it is worth exploring how these staff might be more effectively deployed (and paid). Traditionally, TAs have been managed by SENCOs, attached mainly to SEND Departments in schools, as deliverers of either group or 1-1 teaching support. But is it now time to look differently at these valuable members of staff? For example, might they have a role to play across the curriculum, especially in secondary schools, attached to subject departments? 

My book, Becoming A Reader# explores this idea far more closely, with the focus on reading development: carrying the crucial message that all TAs need to be well trained in the techniques of reading and comprehension. Armed with such knowledge, attaching some TAs to subject departments would therefore enable them to focus attention on the reading/comprehension demands of the specific subjects to which they are allocated.  

The SEND system has been failing children with learning difficulties for a while now. In my view, the failure lies mainly with the mainstream additional support system intended for children with less severe needs – who, if such support is well delivered, would not need an EHCP. So, two issues: how does the SEND system need to change – and how do we make better use of TAs, in order that all children achieve their potential? 

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