Labour has been warned of a major mistake that could cost the British taxpayer billions ahead of the latest backbench coup against Sir Keir Starmer.
While the party’s Lord Mandelson scandal drags on, Downing Street has started to peer at ways to turn the dial down on proposed special educational needs reforms.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has previously claimed she inherited a Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (Send) system that was “on its knees” which failed schools, families and local authorities.
Expenditure on high-needs provision climbed from £7.5billion in 2016 to at least £12billion this year, with projections suggesting it will spill over £21billion by 2029.
In a bid which will save money for the Treasury, Ms Phillipson is reportedly examining plans to restrict education, health and care plans to only the most severe and complex cases.
But Labour MP Helen Hayes, chair of the Education Select Committee, warned against restricting access to support plans.
The claims that a backbench rebellion could be on the cards come as private equity firms are reportedly making vast profits from investing in ADHD clinics, which provide assessment and treatment for tens of thousands of NHS patients.
Ms Hayes’s concerns have been echoed by leading industry professionals who have spent decades working in the schooling system.
Ms Cunniffe said Britain’s system was ‘not supporting the human race’
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LVS Ascot headteacher, Christine Cunniffe, joined GB News to hit out at the proposed cuts to Send policy, suggesting the changes will culminate in a costly sum to be suffered by the British taxpayer.
“Our education system is actually not supporting the human race,” she fumed.
“We’re all different and we’ve got different needs, and I can see children who have struggled. I’ve been in education for 33 years. There’s children that fare their exams, their classes, lazy or not engaged, sometimes disruptive.”
She called for the system to be assessed “as a whole because there’s a reason why an individual has been diagnosed”.
Ms Cunniffe accused Labour of ‘missing the point’
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“And I see that with adults. We’re very good at trying to get children through school, but put them in the workplace and people are failing.
“That’s leading to mental health issues, addiction, suicide and a big loss to the working workforce that we have today as well,” she warned.
“The Government is missing the point here.
“It’s about the education we have and embracing the brains we’ve got. We’ve got autism, we have dyslexia, dyscalculia, we have ADHD. We are all there somewhere.
“But all the time we have an education system that tries to make us a one-size-fits-all. This country will fail and we’re putting plasters on the open wound,” Ms Conniffe blasted.
Looking ahead to how Labour should approach the seemingly controversial policy, the headteacher claimed there were “too many labels and too many groups” as the current system works.
She added: “We have to recognise who we are, how we learn best and give the kids the resources to do this. It is going to cost billions of pounds to try and put right.”
If Sir Keir were to buckle to the demands of his backbenchers, it would mark yet another climbdown for his Government – which has reached almost 20 since assuming power in July 2024.