(UK) Hounslow: $36M for council to create 838 more SPED places by 2032

Mar 25, 2026, Hounslow schools working together to expand SEND provision across the borough | London Borough of Hounslow

Hounslow Council is strengthening support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) through a pioneering expansion of specialist provision.

Working in close partnership with both mainstream and specialist schools, the Council is enabling more pupils with additional needs to access high-quality support while remaining in their existing school communities.

A key element of this initiative is partnership working between mainstream and specialist SEND schools, with the latter providing expertise, guidance and training to help mainstream colleagues develop the knowledge and skills required to deliver high-quality provision. This includes ongoing professional development, support with inclusive teaching strategies and advice on how to meet a wide range of educational needs.

The Council is developing an ambitious SEND capital programme that will create up to 838 specialist placements in the borough by 2032, funded by £27m [$36m] of Department for Education grants. . . .

Councillor Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Education, Children, Skills and Employment at Hounslow Council, said:

“Schools across the borough are playing a crucial role in leading inclusive practice, shaping a more responsive and sustainable SEND system. Their commitment and leadership are central to ensuring children and young people with additional needs receive the right support.

“This expansion of resource provision is part of a broader strategy to respond to national challenges by strengthening the capacity of mainstream education, so a wider range of needs are met. . . .

One mother from Weston-super-Mare with a child with SEND and an EHCP, said: “When he was in mainstream but before he had an EHCP, getting him the help he needed was a fight and the school basically turned around and sad we haven’t got the funding. Then when he got an EHCP and the school still wasn’t helping him, I was able to go back and say, ‘Where’s the funding going?”

The findings of the report will land heavy with government ministers, after the education secretary announced sweeping reforms to SEND earlier this year.

An estimated 270,000 fewer young people will be awarded education, health and care plans (EHCPs) by 2035, a drop of more than 40 per cent on current projections.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the current system “designed 10 years ago for a small number of children is now broken. Parents end up fighting tooth and nail for entitlements on paper that don’t see them getting additional support. Children’s educations and lives have suffered”.

According to official modelling, the number of EHCPs is forecast to fall rapidly after the new system is introduced, from a high of almost 8 per cent of pupils in 2029-30 to less than 5 per cent by 2034-35.

At the moment, parents face long waits to access support for their children, in part because the number of EHCPs issued has soared in recent years. There were 638,745 last January, up from 353,995 in 2019. The rise has led to spiralling costs for councils and large deficits.