The Government launching a £3 billion investment into the construction of roughly 50,000 new facilities in mainstream schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities
The plans say the Government It will mean young people won’t have to travel miles from home to have their needs met, and can instead get support in tailor-made spaces with the right facilities while also mixing with other classes for subjects or parts of the day that are appropriate for them.
In addition, the government has confirmed it will deliver on all 10,000 places – in all areas – due to be created by planned special free schools.
It will do this either by building the planned schools, or by giving local authorities the funding to create the equivalent number of specialist places themselves – often more quickly than through free school projects. This is on top of the tens of thousands of places created through the new £3 billion investment.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said:
A child’s background should not determine where they end up. Education is the route to opportunity, and opportunity should be for every child, regardless of their individual needs and circumstances.
For too many families, the reality has been very different, but this government will fix the broken education system for children and young people with SEND by making sure that their local school is also the right school. Ahead our reforms next year, we’re laying the foundations of a new system that shifts children with SEND from forgotten to included and earns the confidence of parents.
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. This is how we build an education system that works for every child.
