Rise in special needs pupils forced to attend out-of-area schools
This article identifies a significant challenge around choice and fairness which impacts on a significant number of rural families. I do hope however in responding to the lobbying in relation to the issue that we don’t end up with local government being asked, without any increase in resources, to fund a way out of this problem as it is already completely broke! This story tells us:
Almost 20,000 children with special educational needs such as autism are attending school outside their council area because of shortfalls in local provision – with the number rising by nearly a fifth in two years, the Observer can reveal.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that some children are studying hundreds of miles from home as the special education needs and disability (Send) system struggles to cope with a funding crisis.
Parents of children with Send are preparing for a national day of action on May 30 in protest at the lack of funding, with more than 25 demonstrations across England and Wales and a rally in Westminster.
The Observer’s figures show that in 2018-19, 19,771 special needs children of compulsory school age attended school outside their local authority area. The true figure will be higher, as only 113 of England’s 151 councils provided data. Among the 100 councils that provided figures from 2016-17 to 2018-19, the number of out-of-area school placements rose by 18% from 15,503 to 18,229.