Council responds to Government decision not to fund special free school in Buckinghamshire

Carl Jackson, Cabinet Member for Education & Children’s Services said:

“I am hugely disappointed that the government has gone back on a promise to fund a new, 152-place special school in Buckinghamshire for children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.

“Buckinghamshire Council provided the Department for Education with detailed and powerful evidence which demonstrates the urgent need for a new special school in our county. The government’s decision to scrap those plans risks having a lasting and damaging impact on many of our most vulnerable children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

“Instead of funding the new special school we were promised, the government has offered Buckinghamshire Council a much smaller package of funding to expand existing special schools. That funding is woefully inadequate to meet the true scale of demand.

“I want to reassure the families of children with SEND that, although the government has let them down, Buckinghamshire Council remains fully committed to supporting them.

“We will continue to work with schools and families to expand special school capacity as far as possible, keep improving SEND services, and do everything we can to ensure every child receives the support they need to achieve and thrive.”