Posted on Tuesday 19th Nov 2024
Children with complex needs are being sent to private schools up to 200 miles away from home because there is not enough capacity in the state system, a BBC investigation has found.
Councils struggling to cope with an unprecedented number of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are increasingly reliant upon private providers.
Headteachers say funding from government has not kept pace with soaring demand, meaning both mainstream and special schools are struggling to cope.
As a result, local authorities say they are having to spend millions of pounds on independent providers which are sometimes located far away from the child's home.
When mainstream schools are unable to meet pupils' additional needs, an application can be made for that child to be granted an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP).
These detailed legal documents spell out the support needed and oblige the child's local authority to provide it.
The number of children and young people with an EHCP in England stood at a record high of 600,000 in June - up 70% from January 2019.
During the last five years, the sharpest increase has been recorded in the north west of England.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
11/04/25Leave school phone bans to head teachers, children's commissioner says
Banning phones in schools should be a decision for head teachers and not "imposed nationally by the government", England's children's commissioner has said.
24/03/25Ex-Ofsted boss says education secretary wants 'to please unions'
The former head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has criticised the education secretary and accused her of giving "a great deal of time and attention" to the teaching unions. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman claims "effective reforms are being reversed" - referring to potential changes to academy schools' powers.
20/03/25Childcare costs fall for the first time in 15 years – but nurseries are worried
Annual nursery costs for a child under two in England have fallen for the first time in 15 years, according to the children's charity Coram. It comes as the government continues to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children, not only three and four-year-olds as currently, with 30 hours of childcare per week from September. However, some nurseries and childminders say they may have to drop out of the scheme as government funding struggles to meet rising costs, including National Insurance increases from April.
17/03/25Poorest children missing more school and further behind after Covid
The poorest children are missing more school and falling further behind classmates, research shared with the BBC suggests. According to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) - which looked at pupil performance after the Covid-19 pandemic - children from the lowest income families are now up to 19 months behind peers by the time they are 16 years old.
13/03/25The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England
The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England by the end of its term, a new report has suggested. Analysis by the National Foundation of Educational Research (NFER) says unfilled vacancies are at a record high and recruitment into teacher training remains "persistently low." All but five secondary subjects missed this year's recruitment targets for new trainee teachers, which are set by the Department for Education (DfE).
News Archive