An extra £22 million of funding to provide extra SEND places across Hampshire has been confirmed by the government.
To tackle the rise in demand for special education needs and disabilities (SEND) placements nationally, the government has pledged £740 million to fund 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND.
In the South East, £126.6 million has been allocated to fund around 2,000 places for children with SEND.
Hampshire County Council will receive £22,866,661. Neighbouring authorities like Southampton and Portsmouth will also receive a share of £2,996,726 and £1,920,552, respectively.
With the money, the government expects local authorities to create more in-house provision in mainstream and special schools and reduce the need to provide education for SEND children in independent and non-maintained special schools (INMSS), which will have an average cost of £70,489 per place.
Creating additional specialist places would allow children to remain in their local communities close to their homes and families.
In England, less than 1 in 10 mainstream schools have SEND units or resourced provision—specialist facilities that provide more intensive support for pupils with SEND.
Between 2010 and 2024, the number of children with education health and care plans (EHCPs), which detail extra support they may need, or their previous equivalents, being educated in independent special schools increased from 7,000 to 26,000. The latest data released today shows an escalating gap of 8,000 places in state special schools.
As of December 2024, the number of maintained EHCPs in the Hampshire local authority was 17,731.
The county council estimated that around 28,000 pupils will have an EHCP by 2030-31 without mitigation.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “This investment is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places, supporting all children and particularly those with SEND, and plugging the significant gaps in provision we inherited.
“This investment will give children with SEND the support they need to thrive, marking the start of a turning point for families who have been fighting to improve their children’s outcomes.”
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Hampshire County Council welcomed the extra funding and said the money will support their plans to create 1,000 new places in mainstream and special schools.
A spokesperson said: “Like many local authorities nationally, we continue to see growing demand for specialist school places, often resulting in pupils with SEND being placed in independent and non-maintained schools to fulfil the county council’s statutory obligations.
“Hampshire County Council is committed to increasing our SEND capacity and we are currently investing in creating 1,000 new places both in mainstream and special schools by 2030. This new capital funding will go some way towards supporting our plans.”
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