Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice entitled £740 million allocated for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND, published on 25 March 2025, what proportion of the £740 million has been allocated for building new special schools.

The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision.

Of this funding, Oxfordshire Council has been allocated just under £8 million.

This funding is intended to support local authorities to adapt or create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, and to create high quality special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.