Hertfordshire County Council is being "constrained" from delivering its legal obligations to SEND children because of underfunding from central government, according to its executive member.

Members of the public are being encouraged to read Hertfordshire County Council's draft Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) strategy and offer their opinions before it is implemented next year.

A public consultation was launched this month for the draft strategy, which runs from 2026-29 and promises a "transformative shift" in how the authority engages with SEND families, with an emphasis on "collaboration, communication and meaningful outcomes".

Crucially, the council is waiting on the Government's Schools White Paper, which contains reforms for SEND, due to be released in early 2026. The policy document is understood to focus on improving standards through increased accountability and changes – including the possible replacement of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) – but its exact contents are as yet unknown.

Cllr Mark Watkin, executive member for education, SEND and inclusion, told the Local Democracy Service: "While we're waiting for the education paper to come out in the New Year, we can't wait for it. We will carry on and we will launch this strategy.

"The main thing that will be different will be better engagement all the way through the process, not just now while we're launching the strategy, but while it exists.

"The point of the engagement exercise is to listen to what people will tell us about the strategy and be prepared to modify it, or at least provide emphasis in one area more than another if that is required by the people who are actually going to experience it.

"We will be doing a whole series of online surveys around parents, around schools, around young people in particular, and also – something which proved to be very significant in the SEND summit – we will be doing personal meetings, where we will go out to meet parents and talk to them directly."

The rise in SEND children across the UK has been exponential, with an 80% increase in the number of children with EHCPs since 2018, largely driven through increased awareness and diagnoses. In Hertfordshire, 9,804 children have EHCPs and 31,966 pupils require special educational needs support – representing 18.5% of all pupils.

Local authorities are legally responsible for ensuring the needs of SEND children despite shortfalls in core grant funding from central government, a situation which has been linked to budget deficits in councils up and down the country.

Cllr Watkin drew attention to the high needs funding crisis, adding: "One of the key challenges that we and every authority face is that we're not sufficiently funded by central government to meet the statutory needs of our children.

"This authority is going to overspend because we just haven't got the funds coming through from central government to meet those needs in schools, we're looking at some eye-watering numbers.

"We have to put on record that one of the constraints that stops us delivering what we want is actually a national situation, and not a Hertfordshire situation."

Cllr Steve Jarvis, head of the council, said: "It's quite clear from the SEND summit that there's a big issue that people feel that they're not sufficiently aware of what's going on, they're not kept up to date with the progress of EHCPs and what's being delivered for their children.

"Those are all things that we can make some improvements on within the national system. Some of the more fundamental issues probably rely on some changes from the Government, but as Mark said, it's really important that we don't wait for that to happen.

"Improving communication, I think, is the single biggest issue that came out of the SEND summit, largely with parents, but also in fact the way we communicate with schools and other partners, because the council can't deliver this all on its own.

"Schools have a vital role to play, parts of the NHS have a vital role to play, and communications with all those partners, as well as parents and children, is something we can do better."

Improving outcomes for SEND children for them to live happier, productive lives is linked to a host of societal benefits, according to education specialists.

Cllr Watkin added: "If we can have more children in school, engaged with education – it's not just SEND, we're talking about the wider inclusion strategy – then obviously, they will not be disengaged, they will not be at home without proper support and the social contact they get from their peers, so it does have lots of interconnected benefits."

Hertfordshire's mixed demographic of several major urban settlements alongside swathes of rural communities represents challenges for delivering the same benefits across the county. Councils are legally responsible for ensuring school transport for eligible children – including those with SEND, those living more than two or three miles from their nearest school without parental transport, and those with mobility issues.

To address SEND needs in rural areas, the council's "Delivery Specialist Provision Locally" (DSPL) network works with schools, parents, and other professionals to provide targeted support, including specialist learning environments and advice services.

Hero Slinn, the council's director of skills and inclusion, said: "I think when we're talking about consistency, we're talking about an equitable approach – which doesn't necessarily mean the same in every area – but ensuring the needs we have in those areas are met as effectively.

"That may require more distinct approaches. We have our DSPLs, commissioned to support that exact [rural] demographic, it's led by schools, it brings schools together, resourced by us, and data is fed into it through us, so it's very much a partnership approach – supporting the children's needs in those areas.

"It's about enhancing some of those things that we already have, and know are strong mechanisms, even further, to include all of the children that require that additional support.

"In terms of transport, creative solutions are continuously being looked at. One of the ways we've looked at that is by setting up satellites attached to our special schools that are in more local communities in order to increase local provision."