Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve access to independent special schools for children with complex needs in regions where maintained provision is (a) limited and (b) oversubscribed.

The department recognises the vital role that special schools play in providing high-quality education and meeting the needs of children and young people. Independent special schools play their part in this, particularly in meeting low incidence needs. However, independent special schools typically have higher costs than their maintained equivalent, and we need to ensure that placements are used appropriately. Where a local authority has commissioned a place in an independent school, the local authority is responsible for all the funding for supporting that child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The department wants more children and young people to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units.

The department has now published allocations for £740 million in high needs provision capital allocations for the 2025/26 financial year to support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and state-maintained special schools, reducing reliance on the independent sector to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.