Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussion she has had with school leaders on the the oversubscription of children with special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded schools.

The department engages regularly with school leaders and their representatives on a wide range of issues, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient good school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. They are statutorily required to keep the services and provision for children and young people with SEND under review, including its sufficiency.

Nationally, 16% of pupils are identified with some form of SEND, three quarters of whom receive SEND support from their mainstream school, funded from its own resources.

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25 and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP. This funding forms part of the £2.6 billion we are investing between 2022 and 2025 and represents a significant investment in new high needs provision. This will also deliver up to 60 new special and AP free schools, in addition to the 48 special free schools that are already in the pipeline.

The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, sets out how the government intends to support schools to meet the special educational needs of their pupils.