'My son has been squeezed out of school'

Alex Palmer, six, who has autism, has not had a school place for two years, having been excluded just weeks after starting at a mainstream school in 2017.

He is one of more than 1,500 children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) without a school place in England.

The figures, collated by Newsnight, cover 46 English councils (25%), which suggests the real figure may be higher.

The government said responsibility lay with local authorities.

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