SEND Sufficiency
The SEND landscape is increasingly complex and remains financially unsustainable. With rising demand, funding pressures, and heightened accountability, it's never been more vital to ensure that SEND provision meets the needs of children and their families.
Underlining our commitment to improving standards for children and young people, PAG supports trusts and local authorities to review and improve the quality and effectiveness of SEND provision through robust, evidence-led reviews.
Whether you're a school, trust, or LA, we can help you ensure your SEND provision is inclusive, effective, and sustainable.
SEND sufficiency crisis
Local authorities are under increasing scrutiny to ensure their services align with the SEND Code of Practice, particularly in light of statutory responsibilities, local area inspections, and financial oversight.
However, amid growing demand and constrained resources, many local areas face challenges in evaluating their provision’s quality, impact, and compliance.
PAG's SEND reviews are designed to do just that, helping LAs and trusts better understand what’s working, where there are gaps, and how best to evolve in response to children’s needs.
PAG's experience & expertise
Our SEND review framework
Our comprehensive SEND review model combines quantitative analysis with qualitative insight. It is aligned with the DfE’s expectations and the Ofsted inspection framework, ensuring reviews are not only thorough but also strategically applicable.
From facilitating key stakeholder relationships and driving local partnerships to delivering evidence-led proposals, we're working to not only deliver solutions that will affect the health of the SEND sector going forward, but alleviate some of the immediate strain on both organisations and students now.
We support our clients to:
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Assess current provision: Evaluate the quality, compliance, and appropriateness of SEND support across settings.
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Map demand and sufficiency: Use data and stakeholder insights to understand emerging needs and the capacity to meet them.
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Highlight gaps and risk areas: Identify issues in service delivery, commissioning arrangements, or outcomes.
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Facilitate inclusive engagement: Capture the views of young people, families, schools, and professionals.
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Deliver practical recommendations: Offer realistic and actionable next steps to drive improvement.
Through the above, coupled with in-depth research and modelling, PAG has demonstrated significant savings for LAs. The example below is based on work with three LAs*:
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£34,557 per SEMH pupil per annum
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£1,509,7339 per 60-place SEMH provision per annum
*Figures are averages based on 2024 data across urban, urban-rural, and rural LAs.
What does a SEND Sufficiency Review involve?
We don’t offer generic reports. Each SEND review we deliver is rooted in local context, led by experienced consultants, and focused on real-world improvements.
Most importantly, our reviews are not just diagnostic; they are catalytic. We help organisations take the next step, turning insight into action and supporting sustainable system change.
Each review is tailored to the client’s needs but typically includes the following:
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Review of key documents and data: Including EHCP audits, SEND support arrangements, exclusions data, and outcomes.
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Stakeholder engagement: Structured interviews, focus groups, and surveys with parents, carers, professionals, and children and young people themselves.
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Benchmarking and best practice insight: Comparison with similar LAs or trusts, and integration of national guidance.
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Thematic analysis: Including early identification, assessment quality, transitions, post-16 pathways, and partnership working.