Government gives Central Bedfordshire Council £4.4m to fund new places for pupils with special needs

It’s part of a total investment of £740 million to provide 10,000 new school places across the country.

According to the Government, the money will pay for adaptations and expand specialist units in mainstream as well as the new places.

Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, said: “As part of our Plan for Change, we want every family to have access to a good local school for their child, breaking the link between children’s background and their opportunities in life.

“This investment is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places, supporting all children and particularly those with SEND, and plugging the significant gaps in provision we inherited.

The Department has also announced details of a £2.1 billion investment for the 2025-26 financial year to improve the condition of the school and sixth-form college estate in England. The money will go towards replacing roofs, windows and heating systems.

New DfE figures show there were 856 pupils with SEND on roll in Central Bedfordshire in the 2023-24 school year, but only 720 places in special schools – meaning schools were overcrowded.

Meanwhile, there was a gap of 6,574 places in special schools across England, with 160,036 pupils with SEND on roll last year, but only 153,462 places available.

The DfE said the proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan – which sets out the provision of SEND support needed – that will need a place in specialist provision in England is "forecast to increase" in the years to come.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Both mainstream and special schools lack the capacity and resources required to best support the growing number of SEND pupils and it’s clear this needs to change.

"There is a huge amount of work that needs to be done to rescue the SEND system and ensure all pupils get timely and effective support.

"The scale and complexity of this work must not be underestimated."

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the funding allocated to new school places for SEND pupils "is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places".

She added this investment will mark "the start of a turning point for families who have been fighting to improve their children’s outcomes".

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said this funding "must just be the beginning of sustained investment and reform if the Government is to truly get to grips with the SEND crisis."

He added more must be done to improve the state of both mainstream and special schools across England, saying it "really should be the minimum ambition".

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