As reported by BB News, the funding aims to improve accessibility in schools and support reforms to a SEND system parents say is urgently broken
The government has announced £740m of funding to increase the number of places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in mainstream schools in England.
The money, part of the £6.7bn of education spending announced in the Budget, will be targeted towards adapting school buildings to make them more accessible.
In October, the National Audit Office (NAO) said parents had lost faith in a Send system “in urgent need of reform”.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said she “hears the frustration” of parents but significant changes would take time.
The money would be used to adapt classrooms and create SEN units that delivered more intensive specialist support, the Department for Education said.
Increasing funding alone was not enough, Phillipson said, but large-scale reform would take time. “Just putting more money in the system without reforming it isn’t the answer,” she said. “What I’m also keen to make sure we do is reform the system overall. I know it’s frustrating but it’s so important we get it right.”
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