£36m investment in Surrey special educational needs school places
It is so children do not have to travel outside the county for their education.
More young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be able to find a suitable school closer to home next year.
Surrey County Council (SCC) has committed to investing in 213 additional specialist school places to save children having to make excessively long journeys to outside of the county.
At the moment the council is spending £41 million a year on travel for SEND children to get to school.
Due to a current shortage of appropriate places in state schools, SCC also spends in excess of £63m each year placing 1,200 young people in the independent sector.
The average cost of a placement there is £53,000, whereas a state school placement costs about £16,000.
More than half (54%) of those in independent settings have to be placed outside of Surrey.
Councillor Julie Iles, SCC cabinet member for all-age learning, said: “It will ensure that our children and young people with special educational needs and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are educated in the most appropriate settings and, very importantly, closer to home.
“Increasing the range of options within the county will help young people to fulfil their potential while continuing to play an active role in their local communities.
“It is fundamental to decreasing the journey time when children have to travel a long way to go to out of county settings, and bringing the resulting transport budget to a sustainable level, not to mention the benefits to our greener future agenda.”
Spelthorne mum Beth Wilson was impressed by the investment, although it will not benefit her daughter Rebecca, who is 19.
She has to drive her from their Ashford home to Guildford College because it is the nearest that can meet her physical needs.
Beth Wilson has degenerative disc disease and said she feels crippled after spending three hours of the day in the car, but there is no transport provided.
“Brooklands College is nearer but is very spaced out, Guildford is more mobility friendly,” said Ms Wilson.
“Transport is part of Rebecca’s EHCP and she always had it at sixth form but now there’s none available because of a backlog.”
She added: “It is a really positive thing the council is spending money on the schools, it gives you hope for other families.”
On Tuesday (29 September) the SCC cabinet today voted unanimously to increase the places available for for the academic year 2021-22, for secondary and post 16 aged children and young people who have social, emotional and mental health needs, communication and interaction needs, and cognition and learning needs.
It is part of a wider council decision to invest £36m in its specialist education provision, and a report to cabinet said an improvement in the quality of delivery would be seen by April 2021.
It includes a sustainable transport strategy to support independent travel, and a new strategy for autism – which has grown by a third (32%) in Surrey over the last four years.
There has also been a significant increase in demand overall. On average, Surrey’s EHCP growth has been 12% since 2016, nearly two percentage points higher than its neighbours.
Councillor Mary Lewis, cabinet member for children, young person and families, said: “Julie Iles and I both receive a lot of contact from families of children with SEND and their continual challenge for us is for the council to take seriously the needs of their children, and so we’re very grateful to have the support of the cabinet on this capital programme.”