A thousand new special school places

Today the government announced plans to create over a thousand new special school places, backed by £70 million, making sure all children can get the best possible start in life.

• Every child and young person should continue to get consistently high-quality support, no matter what their educational needs are or where in the country they live.
• That is why today the government announced plans to create over a thousand new school places for children with special educational needs, with £70 million to help open seven new special free schools as part of a programme to test and refine our SEND reforms so that they are informed by the experiences of real families.
• Once complete, these reforms will more than double the number of special free school places available across the country – from around 8,500 to 19,000 – so that every child receives a quality education tailored to their needs.
• The package announced today includes seven new special free schools in addition to the 83 already announced.