Schools are to get £740m to create more places for pupils with special needs, in a new push by the government to ease the strains on England’s education system.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is to announce the extra funding for mainstream schools to increase provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), relieving pressure on special schools facing overwhelming demand.
Phillipson said: “The current picture is stark. For too long, too many children with additional needs haven’t been getting support early enough, with dire consequences when issues escalate.
“But my commitment to reform – making tangible change to improve experiences for children and families – could not be clearer, and building a system where more children with Send can attend mainstream schools is central to our plans.
“We are determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all children and will work closely with local authorities, schools and families to ensure inclusion is at the heart of learning and that all pupils are getting the support they need.”
The Department for Education (DfE) said “thousands of pupils” will benefit from the increase coming from the department’s £6.7bn capital funding for schools announced in the autumn budget.
This funding is intended for adapting classrooms to be more accessible and for creating specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver support adapted to suit pupil needs.
The number of children and young people in England with identified special needs has recently risen sharply. Last year, 576,000 had an education health and care plan (EHCP), a statutory document detailing extra support agreed between parents and local authorities funded from high-needs budgets.
But a severe shortage of state special school places has caused friction between parents and councils, and additional costs for councils having to pay for places in private special schools.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We’ve long highlighted that there simply isn’t enough capacity in either mainstream or special schools to offer all children with additional needs the support they deserve.
“Mainstream schools in particular often lack the essential facilities needed at a time when they are trying to cater for increasing numbers of pupils for whom there is simply no space in special schools.”
He said this was a legacy of a failure by previous governments in the past 10 years to provide the investment to cope with increasing demand.
“While this funding will be welcomed by mainstream schools,” he continued, “it must be just the beginning of sustained investment not only in specialist facilities, and increased special school places, but also support for children with special educational needs and the professionals who provide this.”
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said: “There is consensus across trusts, local authorities, government, and, most importantly, families, that the current approach to Send is not working.
“Fixing that will take time. This funding initiative has the potential to make a difference to children in our schools right now.”
