Thousands more children with SEND will get the support that helps them achieve and thrive under new government action to end spiralling independent special school costs and reinvest funding where it makes the biggest difference to pupils’ life chances.
It comes ahead of the Government’s schools white paper, which will be a golden opportunity to change the course of children’s lives for the better, moving away from a one size fits all approach to one where every child belongs and where high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin, News Cover reports, citing UK government.
Independent special schools charge an average of £63,000 per child per year – more than twice the £26,000 cost of a state special school. Yet there is no evidence children do any better. Over 30% of these schools are backed by private equity firms, with public money intended for children and young people with the most complex needs instead flowing into private profit.
For the first time, clear national price bands and strengthened standards will ensure every specialist placement delivers real progress for children – not higher bills for councils – ending the postcode lottery that families have faced in securing high-quality SEND support.
Demand for SEND support has risen sharply in recent years, driving an over-reliance on expensive independent special school placements. Today’s measures will reset the specialist sector so that funding is focused on what matters most - high-quality education, better progress and stronger life chances for children.
And for those children who we know can thrive in mainstream schools with the right support, new research shows that children with SEND perform half a grade better at GCSE than their peers in special schools.
