Millions of pounds are to be spent on increasing places in special schools and improving standards in mainstream classrooms for pupils with special educational needs.
Staffordshire County Council will be allocating £10.7 million in 2026/27 to support children with SEND, or those who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Projects include £1 million for the provision of a new campus in the centre of Stafford, for 16 to 19-year-olds attending Walton Hall Academy near Eccleshall.
Janet Higgins, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Education and SEND, said:
We want all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to be able to reach their potential by receiving the right support at the right time in their own communities, at their local school or nearest suitable place of education.
Supporting these projects will allow schools to make extra provision and increase their capacity to provide support where it can make a real difference.”
Once formally approved by Cabinet, the £10.7 million will be used to help children and young people with complex needs in one of three ways:
- by improving support in mainstream schools so pupils do not require specialist provision elsewhere;
- by increasing places in specialist schools so that pupils do not seek independent alternatives, or need travel outside Staffordshire;
- by expanding the number of places within Pupil Referral Units to meet the growing demand for alternative provision.
Staffordshire currently supports more than 24,000 pupils with SEND. Of those 9,925 have EHCPs, an increase of 50 per cent in three years.
In Staffordshire 31 per cent of children and young people with an EHCP attend mainstream school, compared to the national average of 42 per cent.
At the same time, 8.3 per cent of those with an EHCP attend an independent special school, compared to 4.6 per cent nationally – an increase of 55 per cent over the past three years.
Janet Higgins said:
EHCPs specify the support that shall be provided to a child or young person.
Demand has doubled in three years, and we are working hard to keep pace with it by increasing capacity.
We have spoken to parents, carers and school heads and there is large support for our approach to balance provision so we have the appropriate option for pupils closer to home, and, at the same time, reduce the need for more expensive alternatives further away.”
