Children with special educational needs are being “consigned to a bleak future” as waiting lists for special schools soared.
Figures show the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are either excluded or waiting for a school place has jumped by 29 per cent since 2020.
In 2020, almost 2,400 children with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan were either excluded or waiting for the school place they were entitled to in order to meet their needs or disabilities.
This year this had risen to more than 3,000 children. Of those, nearly 1,600 were not in education at all.
Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, said: “Children with SEND locked out of education are being consigned to a bleak future by a Conservative government with no plan and no ambition to give them the opportunities they deserve.”
A growing number of children need educational support for complex needs.
The recent surge in demand has been linked to missed education during the pandemic. Many are left waiting for years in alternative provision for a place in a special school that can meet their needs.
Workforce shortages act as a barrier to meeting the needs of children with SEND. Wigan council recently reported that their local schools don’t have the staff to manage and care for these children.
She added: “ Labour will make breaking down barriers to opportunity for children and young a people a key mission in government.
“That means reforming SEND education by identifying children's needs to get support in place sooner and delivering ongoing teacher training to ensure more children can be appropriately supported in mainstream settings.”
