This petition demands that the Education Secretary Damian Hinds and Chancellor Philip Hammond increase funding to local authorities to ease pressure on SEND budgets and calls on Warwickshire County Council to ensure that our SEND children receive the support and provision they are entitled to. 

Over the last five years special education needs budgets within schools have been hit by multi-million-pound cuts in England and warnings of a ‘national crisis’ set to affect thousands of children and young people with disabilities across the country have been voiced by many teachers and parents of children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). Central Government funding cuts have left local authorities with insufficient money to fulfil their legal obligations to SEND pupils; currently many children are not able to attend school due to lack of places and support within schools.

Latest official figures show the number of pupils with SEND has increased for a second consecutive year and they represent 14.6% of pupils, up from 14.4 last year. Pupils with SEND are six times more likely to be excluded from school and account for almost half of all permanent exclusions.