Boost for SEND pupils with 50,000 new school places to 'end postcode lottery', Government announces
Ministers insist the expansion will "transform lives" after £3 billion of funding was confirmed
Roughly 50,000 new school spaces will be created for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) thanks to £3 billion in funding.
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Some of then investment will go towards creating places across the country in local mainstream schools for SEND children to cut down how far they have tom travel.
The funding will also be used to create things like breakout spaces for children who may need more support, or rooms to support those with autism or ADHD,
It comes after Government figures estimated local authorities are funding home to school transport for around 180,000 pupils with SEND.
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Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "This £3 billion investment will transform lives.
"It will open the door to opportunity for tens of thousands of children with SEND, giving them the chance to learn, belong and succeed in their local community."
The Government has also announced it will likely cancel 28 out of 44 mainstream free school projects after a review was launched last year, which is expected to save around £600 million.
It will continue with 15 special and alternative provision schools that were already progressing.
The £3 billion will be for up to 2029/30, it is understood, with first allocations for 2026/27 issued in the spring.
The cash will be distributed to local authorities, who will then work with schools and academy trusts in their areas to understand needs.
The £600 million savings from the cancelled free schools through the spending review period are expected to ease pressure on the DfE’s £38 billion capital settlement up to 2029/30 to allow the £3 billion spending.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union the NAHT, said it will help more children receive the education they need, but added the Government must ensure there are enough staff with the right training to work with children with SEND.
Councils in England spent £415 million more than budgeted in 2023/24 on getting young people to school by bus, taxi or other transport methods, the National Audit Office has found, mostly due to transport needs for more children with Send.
As of 2024/25, more than 1.7 million pupils in England alone have SEND, and the number of education, health and care plans increased by 166 per cent between January 2015 and January 2025.
The Government announced in last month's Budget that local authorities will not be expected to fund future SEND costs once a statutory override keeping deficits off their balance sheets expires at the end of 2027/28.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned this could result in a 4.9 per cent fall in per pupil spending if the Government funded a £6 billion blackhole from the DfE’s core schools budget.T
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: "In Labour's latest act of education vandalism they are taking away new schools which parents want.
"Free schools raise standards and outperform other state schools. And not content with that, the Government has halted shovel-ready, worked-up special schools, and replaced them with a smaller pot of money and no plan."