Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, responds to new figures showing around two in three special schools are at or above capacity.
“The current system for supporting children with special educational needs is in crisis, with both mainstream and special schools lacking the capacity and resources needed to help the growing number of pupils requiring SEND support. The government’s recent announcement of new special schools is welcome and desperately needed but will take years to materialise. These new schools will not meet the needs of children currently in the system who are unable to access the support they require, and neither will the government’s planned reforms of the SEND system which are also some years away from delivery and are underfunded. Children and young people with special educational needs desperately require a much greater sense of urgency from the government that meets their needs right now.”