(UK) Solihull plans for autism school; "special schools are full"

Oct 4, 2018, Coventry Telegraph: New free school plan for autistic children in Solihull https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/solihull-news-autistic-chidren-school-15182775 It is envisaged this would cater for between 80 to 100 pupils, of junior and secondary school age … A recent Ofsted inspection, centred on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), highlighted the lack of suitable provision for borough youngsters with autism. In addition, the costs of having to send scores of pupils to schools in neighbouring authorities are significant, with a warning this week that failing to improve the situation would leave "a massive hole" in the budget. A report presented to councillors revealed that the annual bill for 82 children was more than £4million [$5.2M US dollars] (£3.3million for school placements and a further £722,200 to cover the transport costs)…. Cllr Ken Meeson, cabinet member for children, education and skills, said that councils around the country were having to deal with the strain on their budgets, with increasing calls for more support from the Government. "[Current costs] are a big chunk of the budget. So it's no wonder that the high-needs block is overspent…. "One of the other pressures we have is capacity. Our special schools, our units, are full ... One of the reasons that we're having to send some of these young people out of the borough is because we've run out of spaces locally." … "Parents are very keen, and rightly so, to make a diagnosis of autism and I think prevalence is going to increase all the time." Chris Warne, from Healthwatch Solihull, an independent consumer champion, said the school proposal sounded "very exciting". … Presenting an update on the progress being made, project manager Zubair Afzal said the number of residents needing support was going to continue to rise and there was "a sense of urgency" about dealing with the issue. "It's not going to slow down, these figures are going to increase," he said.