(UK) Devon: Council faces >$214M in SPED debt; asks govt for more funding
- The end of childhood
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Dec 11, 2025, BBC News: Plan to transform special educational needs
Devon County Council wants to transform its services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).
The council said it wanted to focus on early intervention, getting children into local schools and making schools more inclusive to tackle the increasing demand for services.
The council - which has built up more than £160m [$214M] of debt in Send services - has asked the government for more funding to deliver the transformation.
The government had said it would publish its plans for reforms of Send services and funding in the autumn but those plans have been postponed until 2026.
The council said its plans were in line with what the government has said about the sort of reform it is looking to achieve. . . .
To meet an increasing demand for services the council said it had already expanded specialist provision, adding nearly 700 special school places since 2018 and opening new schools in Newton Abbot, Okehampton, and Tiverton. . . .
The government has said it would take all Send spending away from local authorities by 2028.
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