Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Government’s plan to convert empty classrooms into school-based nurseries to include dedicated, small-scale SEND provision in geographies where formal SEND school places are limited and heavily oversubscribed.

This government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. Many mainstream settings are already going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units.

The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. In December my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) for the 2025/26 financial year.

This funding can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about how they spend this funding, and they may invest in creating new provision in currently empty classrooms where that is appropriate to address their local needs.

The department expects to publish local authorities’ individual HNPCA allocations for the 2025/26 financial year in the spring.