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Across England, the number of children receiving support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has soared over the past decade.

The proportion of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) nearly doubling. But while England has seen this sharp rise, the picture north of the border in Scotland tells a slightly different  and more complicated story.

A steep rise in England

In England, around 1.6 million children nearly one in five pupils are now identified as having special educational needs. Within that group, about 5.2% of pupils have an EHCP, compared to just 2.7% in 2015.

The number of children needing extra help for conditions such as autism, speech and communication difficulties or learning disabilities has risen sharply. Experts point to several factors: better awareness and diagnosis, the pressures of the pandemic and rising social and emotional needs among pupils.

However, schools and local authorities are struggling to keep up. The cost of supporting children with complex needs has put immense pressure on school budgets, and many councils are running large deficits in their high-needs funding blocks.

A similar trend - but a different system - in Scotland

Scotland doesn't use the same terminology as England. Instead of "special educational needs," pupils are recorded as having "Additional Support Needs" (ASN) a broader category that includes children with disabilities, learning difficulties, social or emotional challenges, and even those needing support due to family circumstances such as bereavement or caring responsibilities.

The number of Scottish pupils identified with ASN has more than doubled in the past decade, rising from around 140,000 in 2014 to about 284,000 in 2024. That means more than 40% of pupils in Scotland are now recognised as needing some form of additional support – the highest proportion on record.

But the trend hides an important contrast. While general support has expanded, the number of pupils receiving the most formal type of statutory plan – known as a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) has fallen sharply, from over 3,000 a decade ago to barely 1,200 today.

That's the opposite of England's experience, where the number of EHCPs the legal entitlement for children with complex needs – has increased dramatically.

More identification, but less formal support

The Scottish Government argues that the rise in ASN figures reflects a welcome broadening of inclusion, with teachers recognising a wider range of needs. But campaigners worry that while more children are being identified, many aren’t getting the depth of support they actually need.

A report by the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition highlighted that despite the record numbers of pupils with ASN, funding and staffing levels haven’t kept pace. The number of specialist teachers and support assistants has fallen in many local authorities.

In practice, this means a growing number of pupils with complex needs are being taught in mainstream classrooms without enough dedicated support.

Different approaches, shared challenges

Both England and Scotland are grappling with similar pressures: rising need, limited funding, and growing strain on mainstream schools. But the policy frameworks differ.

In England, the challenge is that the EHCP system has expanded so fast that it’s becoming financially unsustainable for many councils.

In Scotland, the issue is the opposite: while identification has broadened dramatically, access to formal legally enforceable plans has shrunk potentially leaving families with fewer rights to guaranteed support.

Both systems face the same core question: how can education systems meet the needs of more children, earlier, and more effectively – without overloading teachers and budgets?

A growing national priority

Whether labelled as SEND or ASN, the reality is that more children than ever before need extra help to thrive at school. Policymakers in both nations are now under pressure to ensure that support is not just identified, but properly delivered – so that inclusion means more than a statistic.

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