Special Educational Needs: support in England
An overview of the current system of support for children and young people with special educational needs, and pressure on the system. Updated with new 2024-25 SEND incidence and EHC plan data

The purpose of this note is to outline the current debate on funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses and to summarise changes in policy in this area. ESOL funding has been subject to a series of changes since 2007 when automatic fee remission was removed. This note provides background on these changes, comments on the relevance of proposed changes with regard to the ongoing debate on social cohesion and integration and highlights Parliamentary debate on this issue.
Changes to funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses (229 KB , PDF)
The purpose of this note is to outline the current debate on funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses and to summarise changes in policy in this area.
ESOL funding has been subject to a series of changes since 2007 when automatic fee remission was removed. This note provides background on these changes, comments on the relevance of proposed changes with regard to the ongoing debate on social cohesion and integration and highlights Parliamentary debate on this issue.
Changes to funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses (229 KB , PDF)
An overview of the current system of support for children and young people with special educational needs, and pressure on the system. Updated with new 2024-25 SEND incidence and EHC plan data
A debate on the attainment and engagement of boys in education is scheduled to take place in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 10 July 2025. The subject for the debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee, and the debate will be led by Sam Rushworth MP.
The government met its 2030 international student recruitment target of 600,000 ten years early and numbers have continued to increase since 2020. This briefing looks at student numbers, government policy, and the economic impact of international students.