Families of children with special education needs and disabilities (Send) have lost confidence in a system that “often falls short” and is failing to improve children’s outcomes, the public-spending watchdog says.
Despite funding rising by 58% over the past decade, to £10.7bn, the system is financially ‘unsustainable’ and ‘in urgent need of reform’, the National Audit Office (NAO) warns.
There are an estimated 1.7 million children with special education needs in schools in England.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told BBC News she was “determined to turn it around” but it “will take time”.