Support for children with special educational needs in England is fundamentally flawed, a major new report says.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says there should be more comprehensive support in mainstream schools which young people can access more easily without a lengthy assessment process.

The Department for Education (DfE) says “this report rightly highlights the vicious cycle underpinning the Send system this government inherited”.

Around 1 in 5 pupils in England (1.7 million pupils) receive some kind of support for special educational needs in school, and 482,640 of those pupils (or 5% of all pupils) get the highest level of support through an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).