Aug 19, 2017, UK Northumberland Gazette: Centres of excellence vision for pupils with special needs http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/centres-of-excellence-vision-for-pupils-with-special-needs-1-8709463 “There are some real challenges,” he said. “One hundred and thirty-one students are educated outside the county because we simply don’t have the spaces and that was one of the first priorities I looked at to see what we could do.
“For some young people, being educated outside the county is the right things to do because of very specialist needs, but for the vast majority, the logistics, transport and stress is not acceptable. …
We have already made substantial investment—3.5 million—for the Priory in Hexham and in Ashington to create 83 new spaces, which will come on stream in 2018.
“Our model shows that we are going to have a need for another 150 places over the next couple of years and we really need to start looking at centres of excellence, not sending young people out of county.”
In Northumberland, there are 7,707 children eligible for SEN support, at a rate which is above the national average. Many are educated in mainstream schools, but 704 go to special schools—up from 491 in 2008. In terms of the needs, the top three are autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—267 young people; social and emotional mental-health problems—240; and a combination of the two—44. Coun Daley said: “There’s an increasing number of young people requiring SEN provision, so there’s real pressure on numbers, which is reflected in 131 having to be educated outside the county. “We have identified some ways of immediately alleviating some of that pressure, but the long-term plan is developing the centres of excellence.