Elizabeth Campbell: In Kensington and Chelsea, we have been leading the way on special education

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell is the Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council

The national conversation around SEND has rarely been as prominent or as important as it is now, following last month’s announcement of the Government’s proposed reforms. These signal a significant shift towards expanding mainstream provision locally.

In Kensington and Chelsea, this has long been our focus. For years, we have worked to ensure that more children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities can access the right support close to home.

That is why we invested £40 million in building Kensington Queensmill, our own special school in North Kensington. It is also why, over the past year, we have committed a further £3.2 million of High Needs Capital funding to expand mainstream provision locally.

As a result, 55 per cent of young people with SEND in our borough are supported in mainstream settings—12 per cent above the national average. This is no accident, but the outcome of sustained, deliberate investment and planning.

I am incredibly proud that in Kensington and Chelsea we have led the way. We have a dynamic SEND local offer, enhanced again last week with the opening of a new SEN Music Hub in Earl’s Court. This approach, driven by local need with a relentless focus on early intervention has paid dividends.

At a time when the Local Government Association projects SEND deficits in local authorities to reach £14 billion within two years, we have managed to reduce our deficit year on year. Despite this stark national backdrop facing children’s services, we have maintained an OFSTED of ‘Outstanding’ for a decade.

The Government’s announcement that it intends to write off 90 per cent of SEND deficits will be welcome for many, yet there is no clarity on both when this will need to be repaid, and how the remaining ten per cent will be funded. That equates to around £360,000 in Kensington and Chelsea. They are writing off the past without a clear plan for the future. The Government needs to be honest and upfront about how they expect this cost to be covered.

But behind the statistics, rising demand for EHCPs, and ongoing debates about budgets and deficits, lies a simple truth: this is deeply personal.

For parents, few issues matter more than their child’s education and wellbeing. We recognise that. It is why our own SEND strategy places “someone by my side” at its heart.

Our strategy, A Fairer Future, launched last year and co-designed with families, puts inclusion and early intervention front and centre.

The Government’s reforms are a welcome step in the right direction. However, with change on this scale, the detail matters. Current decisions taken by this Government leave a £2 billion funding gap for SEND. At a time when schools are already under significant pressure, any shift of additional responsibility onto them must be carefully considered.

We are already hearing concerns from our schools about the practical implications these reforms may have on them, and from parents who fear these reforms could weaken the statutory rights they rely on to secure support for their children.

These concerns must be taken seriously.

In the months ahead, as we develop our own response to the Government’s reforms, we will continue to listen closely to families and schools. Their experience will shape our approach.

The message we hear consistently from parents is clear and powerful: they want someone on their side. In Kensington and Chelsea, that is exactly what we will continue to be.

As the national debate continues, that commitment matters more than ever.