A shortage of special needs funding means growing numbers of children are being left without suitable school places, a teachers' leader has warned.
National Education Union leader Kevin Courtney said official statistics showed 4,050 special needs pupils were without a place in 2017 in England. He said it was a disgrace that such pupils were at home because councils were being "starved" of funds for them.
The government said money for schools and special needs had been protected. It was due to rise to its highest ever level of £43bn in 2020, with £6bn allocated for special educational needs this year, it said.
But the Department for Education figures showed the number of pupils with special needs (SEND) without a school place last year had more than doubled from 1,710 in 2016.
The warning comes after it emerged scores of local authorities have asked to switch money targeted at their main schools budget to spend on children with special educational needs.
Councils are allocated funds for special needs in both mainstream and special schools through their "high needs" budgets. They have been complaining of shortfalls in this budget as it has been "cash flat" for a number of years (ie, the total does not account for inflation).
