Government funding will provide 10,000 new places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilites (SEND), the Department for Education said today.
The announcement came as new data showed that there are around 8,000 more secondary students on roll in special schools than the reported capacity.
At the end of last year, the DfE announced that £740 million was being provided to help create more places for pupils with SEND.
This announcement was focused on the need to provide more specialist places in mainstream schools.
SEND provision in mainstream schools
The DfE said today that the money has been allocated to local authorities to encourage them to adapt mainstream schools for pupils with SEND and to create new places in special schools.
It said funding could be used in mainstream schools to provide an inclusive environment in which all pupils can be supported; “for example, by creating breakout spaces where children can go to self-regulate or by investing in assistive technology”.
In its statement today, the department highlighted a lack of resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units in mainstream schools, noting that currently fewer than one in 10 currently have this type of provision in place.
The government also pointed to analysis suggesting that at least 15,000 more children and young people could have their needs met in specialist provision in mainstream schools, rather than in special schools.
The DfE warned today that between 2010 and 2024, the number of children with education, health and care plans - or their previous equivalent - who were being educated in independent special schools increased from 7,000 to 26,000.
Sector experts told Tes last week that plans to create more specialist places in mainstream schools would not help to bring down spending on independent special schools.
A Tes investigation last year also revealed concerns that mainstream schools needed more funding and guidance to establish resourced provision and SEN units.
And there have been claims that the role of special schools is being overlooked in the government’s drive to make mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with SEND.
The DfE has highlighted an increase in resourced provision in the London borough Barking and Dagenham as an example to follow. It said a shortage of specialist classrooms in local mainstream schools had been forcing pupils with SEND “to attend schools far from home for the right support”.
But after a 10-year expansion strategy, almost half of all schools in the area now have resourced provision, which allows more pupils to be “educated locally with their peers and in their communities”.
Announcing the funding for 10,000 new places, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “This investment is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places, supporting all children and particularly those with SEND, and plugging the significant gaps in provision that we inherited.
“This investment will give children with SEND the support they need to thrive, marking the start of a turning point for families who have been fighting to improve their children’s outcomes.”
The DfE said its reforms to the SEND system will spark “a generational shift” in how children are supported.
Its plans include children’s needs being identified and addressed in the early years; reducing the total number of places required over the long term; and “equipping teachers in mainstream classrooms across the country to be inclusive of all children with new technology and training”.
The DfE also said today that £1 billion is being made available to fund 44,500 places in mainstream schools needed by 2028, helping to meet current and future demand across the country.
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