Surge in EHCP applications poses risk to public finances and may lead to deteriorating levels of support

Councils are warning of potentially “catastrophic” debts, which are forecast to reach a record £10bn over the next 18 months, as a result of rapid growth in demand for special educational needs and disability (Send) support in English schools.

Although the government recently cleared more than £5bn in historic council Send debts, a surge in requests has led to authorities predicting they will have re-accrued that debt figure by April, and doubled it by 2028.

Fixing the broken education system will be just the start. The biggest challenge for an aloof political class is to finally pay attention to an abandoned generation

When adolescents protest that the government is failing to uphold their right to an education, and the government’s response is to send in riot police, the government has lost the plot. People outside France may have spent the past week watching the student protests in Paris and other cities, and thought, “Well, France has a long tradition of insurrection” or, “That’s just the French being French.”

But the situation that has provoked the high-school walkouts and teenage anger is most likely not one they would immediately associate with the France of their imaginations. In place of its lost plot, the French government has a collection of anecdotes and statistics that it should be ashamed of: 27th place in the most recent OECD education rankings, schools with ceilings collapsing and rats in classrooms and, in a school in Bagnolet, no drinkable water; an increase in the average number of students per class from 27 in 2010 to over 30 today; half of primary and high schools missing teachers at the start of the school year – many of them with no substitutes or replacements.

Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now

Overhaul of special education in England could unravel, thinktank finds, because of ‘use it before you lose it’ dynamic

Labour’s flagship changes to special education in England are at risk of unravelling because parents are rushing to secure support for their children before the system changes, new analysis has found.

The Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank says the government’s plans to largely replace education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England with more widespread support in mainstream schools may be too optimistic and take longer to complete than its 2030 timeline.

Schools and councils express financial concerns as EHCP applications surge before potential change in provision

• ‘Powerful example’: minister looks to Essex school for blueprint to transform Send provision

Schools and councils across England are expecting the proportion of children with special needs plans to double to one in 10, with families rushing to secure support before ministers bring in changes.

Headteachers have reported an “unreal” surge in applications for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) mandating support for needs or disabilities such as speech and learning difficulties, autism or ADHD. In 2025, just one in 20 school-age children had EHCPs.

Alan Milburn has outlined a generation cut adrift by austerity. We must grasp the nettle and rebuild a preventive state

Most people think Britain is not working as it should. For young people, the situation is at its most acute: only one in four believe that everyone in society has a fair crack. Most think the game is rigged.

It is clear why the generation who grew up during the post-2008 crash austerity years and in the shadow of the Covid pandemic are downbeat: the level of public service provision their parents enjoyed is gone, living costs are rising, the AI revolution is changing everything, and the planet is on fire.

Falling pupil numbers have left ‘unique’ London school facing an uncertain future, but its supporters have ambitious plans

Sandwiched between a strip club, a West End theatre and a pub might not be the most obvious location for a school but Soho Parish C of E primary has thrived for decades among the colourful charms of inner London.

But in an area that once had 16 schools, Soho Parish is the last remaining and its time may soon be up, a victim of the post-Covid downturn and falling pupil numbers that are forecast to close hundreds of primary schools across England.

Teachers call for schools to be urgently adapted for hot weather amid reports of nausea, fainting and heatstroke

The extreme heat that has hit the UK twice in the past few weeks has left teachers struggling to cope as temperatures in some classrooms climb above 40C, with pupils and staff suffering from heatstroke, nausea and headaches.

Teachers say they have been desperately trying to keep children safe, with some covering younger pupils in wet paper towels as they lie on the floor, while older students have been given trays of water under their desks to put their feet in.

Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than £200,000 a year, and at least one more than £500,000

The era of academy school leaders in England receiving “banker-style salaries” and hefty annual increases may soon be over, with the government to introduce limits on executive pay.

Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than £200,000 a year, with pay in academy trusts equating to anything from less than £5 a pupil to more than £150. Only a quarter of the high-earners were women.

White paper proposes changing criteria under which schools get funding to support the most disadvantaged students

Plans to halve the attainment gap between the poorest pupils in England and their more affluent peers will be set out by the government on Monday.

The schools white paper will detail proposals to change the criteria under which schools receive funding to support the most disadvantaged students.

Survey by disability charity finds 45% of parents of children with complex needs ‘worried support will be taken away’

• ‘We’ve fought so hard’: family’s worry as England’s Send overhaul looms

Parents of disabled children fear that the government’s reforms to special needs education in England could mean they lose vital support, according to a new survey that highlights the high stakes facing ministers.

The poll of 1,000 parents of children with multiple complex needs including deaf-blind, autism and physical impairment, carried out for the disability charity Sense, found that half of the parents surveyed “feel nervous” about the upcoming reforms, and 45% said they were “worried my child’s support will be taken away” in any changes.