(UK) Surrey: More than 1,800 special needs students out of school for more than 1/3 of year

April 28, 2025, BBC News: SEND child left without schooling for a year - MP

SE England

The government has agreed to discuss the case of a child with special educational needs who has not been to school for a year.

The case of the unnamed child with complex needs and severe mental health issues was raised in Commons by Woking MP Will Forster on Monday.

The Liberal Democrat MP asked education minister Stephen Morgan: "The child's deteriorating mental health needs are not being met because they've not being given a school that fits their CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) assessment.

"Has the minister made an assessment of how their department might best avoid situations like these that leave children without the service they need?"

Morgan said the government would deliver on its commitment on mental health to make sure help reaches every child.

"I am very happy to meet with him [Forster] to discuss this specific case that he raises," Morgan added.

In October 2024, figures showed more than 1,800 children in Surrey with additional educational needs were out of school for about a third of the last academic year.