SEND Transition Collective Calls for Whole-System Reform as Funding Crisis Deepens

The SEND Transition Collective, convened by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) in partnership with FE News, brought together senior practitioners, policy advisors, and FE leaders to address what speakers described as a deepening crisis in the support available to neurodivergent young people at transition.

The event came on a significant day for the sector. New findings from the Sutton Trust and NFER, revealed that 43% of school senior leaders have already cut support for pupils with SEND, with 81% expecting further reductions in the year ahead. Hours earlier, the Social Security Advisory Committee published evidence that families with a disabled young person can lose up to £339 per week in benefits the moment that young person takes up an apprenticeship, a structural penalty that the committee said was leaving disabled young people, care leavers, and young carers significantly worse off.

Speakers at the Collective, including Katherine Culigah (ETF), Anna-Marie Hassell (NASEN), David Holloway (SEND Policy), and Caroline McDonald (Holex), identified fragmented systems, inconsistent EHCP implementation, and a chronic lack of coordination between education, health, and employment support as the principal barriers to successful transition.

David Holloway highlighted that local authority EHCP caseworkers are managing caseloads of up to 300 young people with no formal training or professional standards, a finding consistent with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s recent report, which upheld 92% of SEND complaints investigated in 2024/25.

A recurring theme across sessions was the tension between family advocacy and young people’s own aspirations at the transition point. Families who have fought hard through the EHCP process to secure provision often face a welfare system that actively discourages their young person from taking the next step into work or vocational training.

“Stop being surprised that young people with SEND grow up,” one speaker said. “Funding must reflect continuity of need across ages.”

The Collective concluded with a call for co-designed, whole-system reform centred on learner voice, sustained funding beyond 19, and mandatory SEND training embedded in initial teacher education.

By Gavin Hoole, MSc Psychology researcher at London South Bank University

Gavin Hoole is a FE News contributor and MSc Psychology researcher at London South Bank University, where he is conducting research into the experiences of families of neurodivergent young people at the SEND transition.