"focus solely on completing assessments and clearing the backlog"
"an incredibly high-pressured environment"
"never really caught up"
"Staff working in the education, health and care team at Barking and Dagenham council are recording caseloads of 200 to 300 per staff member, which is just not sustainable,"
Barking and Dagenham Council issued 313 Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in 2025, down from 502 the year before, while demand for assessments rose. A third of the SEND team resigned last year, with four of 12 staff leaving in summer 2025, and agency staff were brought in to cover vacancies. Recruitment is challenging across London and pressures from the pandemic and the cost of living crisis contributed. The council created a new team to focus on completing assessments and clearing the backlog. In 2024, 150 children with existing EHCPs moved into the borough, about 40% needing specialist placements. A total of 646 children were referred for an EHCP assessment in 2025.
Read at www.bbc.com
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