Essex County Council is set to spend more than £1m on extra special needs assessment staff in a bid to reduce the worst backlog in England. Currently, only 1% of SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) assessments are completed within a 20-week deadline. There are more than 1,000 currently in the education and health care (EHC) needs assessment process. The council said the most significant contributing factor was the national shortage of educational psychologists (EP). In addition to the 1,000 outstanding cases, its 20-week process is already running approximately five to six months…
