Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to help specialist independent SEND schools remain open in in response to independent school closures in the last year.

Independent special schools are private enterprises. Local authorities have the discretion to make support, training and resources available to them. As private enterprises, the proprietor of the school is responsible for its financial viability.

The department recognises that independent special schools can play an important role in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, particularly in meeting highly complex needs and building capacity in the system. Independent special schools should be part of local authorities’ strategic planning of SEND provision, and the department works to support local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient school places for children that need them.

Where a pupil’s place in a private school is funded by the local authority because the private school is named in the pupil’s education, health and care plan, the local authority is able to reclaim the VAT they are charged on the fees of these pupils via the Section 33 VAT Act 1994 Refund Scheme.