Cambridgeshire County Council awarded £49m for SEND school places

The council said about 600 new school places would be created

A council has been awarded £49m of extra funding from the government to provide more school places for children with special educational needs.

Cambridgeshire County Council said about 600 new school places would be created in the next three years.

The authority said demand for services had outstripped government funding during the last six years.

Councillor Bryony Goodliffe said the council wanted to "help every child reach their full potential".

The government also allocated a further £11.3m for capital funding to Cambridgeshire to support new SEND (special education needs or disability) provision at mainstream school sites.

'Increase in demand'

The council said the funding would help tackle a gap in the budget for SEND provision which is expected to hit about £58 million by the end of this month.

It said the shortfall was caused by demand for services far outstripping government funding to Cambridgeshire for SEND services during the past six years.

As part of the agreement, Cambridgeshire will make a contribution of £9m over five years towards the reduction in the overall deficit of the Dedicated Schools Grant.

The council said it would use the new funding to create 463 additional special school places and provide extra support for 105 pupils at mainstream schools by September 2026 through a programme of expanding current sites and building new schools.

It has also applied to the free school programme for two new special schools in Fenland and Gamlingay.