Councils to get £3bn for thousands more school spaces for Send pupils
In England, the government has promised to provide 50,000 more seats for children with special educational needs (Send). The company intends to invest £3 billion over the next three years, partially funded by the cancellation of the construction of some planned free schools. The councils, who will receive the funds, have argued that the funds must be divided into the right areas and to the people who need to know what is needed in their local communities. Nearly 1. In England, 7 million students are receiving support for special educational needs, with the number increasing every year.
The investment, according to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, would lay the foundations for the Send reforms that were announced in the schools' White Paper early next year. The White Paper had been supposed to be published in the fall but was postponed. Following a review of a further 16 schools, the government has announced that it will cancel the construction of 28 new mainstream free schools.
Ms Phillipson said. So students are less likely to have to travel far for their education because councils will be able to use the funds from the cancelled programs to renovate existing school buildings and create more specialist spaces. For example, they could design breakout spaces for children who may need more help, or rooms to support children with autism or ADHD who may be overstimulated in the classroom. There are already 77 planned special free schools that local authorities can choose to build or, in the same way, use the funds to create the equivalent number of specialist centers elsewhere. The Conservatives referred to the cancellation of some planned free schools asWe've made the decision not to proceed with any schools where we've seen declining enrollments due to student numbers and investing the money into provision for children with Send,
taking away new schools that parents want. Free schools are raising standards and outperforming other state schools.education vandalism. Labour, according to shadow education secretary Laura Trott, Labour is
The Liberal Democrats applauded the funding, but said it needed to beThe government has suspended shovel-ready, worked-up special schools, and replaced them with a smaller pot of money and no strategy, rather than being content with that.
If we build a big school in the middle of nowhere we have to shuttle everyone to,be matched by ambitious changes to diagnosis and care. According to Councillor Amanda Hopgood of the Local Government Association, the Send locations must be in the right location.
Trump says,it isn't used on education. "And those children are not being taught in their local communities, where they live with their families. Local authorities spent£1. Sendin's 2023-24 financial year saw a 5 billion dollars on transport for children under the age of 16, about two-and-a-half times more than it was in 2015
Headteachers' unions have welcomed the plans. However, the school leaders' union, the NAHT, claims that building improvements are only one piece of the picture, and that there will need to be enough teachers and leaders
the devil will be in the depthwith the right level of specialist preparation. Just under 50 students with an education, health, and care plan at Ninestiles, Birmingham's public school, receive around 70% of their time in traditional lessons, according to a legal statement outlining the benefits a young person is entitled to. The majority of the time, they enroll in bespoke lessons to meet their needs, where they have access to specially trained staff and a bespoke curriculum. The demand for these locations is high, and the government claims that with the additional investment, councils will be able to respond to local demand faster. However, Principal Alex Hughes says that
and thatwhat it means to
best of both worldsfor particular schools. Brendan, a student at Ninestiles, has access to the full curriculum but also attends the resource hub, where teachers can assist him. According to his mother Laura Jerram, he has the
and his pastoral care has beenthe key to keeping him in the classroom. Brendan's road to this point has been
a difficult journey,very difficult. Before he came to Ninestiles, he attended a lot of primary school, and the process of obtaining an EHCP was
Ms Jerram explains.It's a bit of a bun fight [to get an EHCP] and the most affluent families tend to come out on top, unfortunately. "I think Brendan would not have dropped out of education the way he did, because he had been aided much earlier.
Speech and Language UK CEO Jane Harris applauded the news, but warned that alone would not be enough to change children's lives with Send-related speech and language difficulties.
Harris said.They must be more than just rooms for these new resourced plans to truly change children's education and future jobs,
The Send problem can't be solved without expert staff to help the 30% of children with speech and language difficulties.Success is based on specialist teachers who work alongside speech and language therapists every single day.
postcode lotteryJolanta Lasota, the chief executive of Ambitious About Autism, said she was delighted to see the government's increased investment, while highlighting the recent
It's vital that this investment allows local authorities to plan and deliver a mixture of policies that meet autistic young people's broad and diverse needs," Lasota said. Autism is now the most common primary need for children with an EHCP in England. Many parents are dissatisfied and dissatisted with the way the system is currently operated by the National Audit Office (NAO), which has warned that despite increased investment, outcomes for students have not increased. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of parents taking court in 2024-2025 over issues with Send provision hit a new high in 2025-2025. There were 25,000 Send appeals, up 18% from the previous year, with the majority of people disagreeing on the EHCP's content. The free schools that will not go forward are now in need of a consultation period. Eton College's plans to open selective sixth-form centers in Dudley and Oldham have been approved, but its Middlesbrough plan has been scheduled for cancellation. Academiets, colleges, charities, or faith organizations run free schools in public, but not all public schools are funded.that many families face when seeking to obtain assistance.
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