Stoke-on-Trent council to create more special needs places

Janine Bridges said she wanted to reduce the council's reliance on costly out-of-city placements

An extra 88 places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be created in Stoke-on-Trent.

A centre for 40 pupils aged between seven and 18 is also planned, with more than £3.6m put aside for the schemes.

The city council currently has 62 SEND places.

Janine Bridges, the councillor responsible for education, said the need for more had "increased dramatically".

Ms Bridges said she believed there had been a number of reasons for the increasing demand for special educational need places, with better diagnosis being one of them.

The authority is aiming to reduce the need for independent sector placements, which can cost more than £40,000 per pupil and mean young people are sometimes sent out of the city and away from friends and family, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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