Independent special schools will be forced to charge less to educate state-funded pupils, as part of the SEND government reforms.
Ministers want there to be less reliance on the private sector to admit pupils who have SEND, whose places are usually paid for by local authorities in areas where no suitable provision is available.
They are expected to announce their plans in a white paper in January.
A rapid rise in demand for SEND support in recent years has led to local authorities relying on private special school placements due to strained capacity in the state sector.
According to an article in the i paper, the government acknowledges that some private school places will still be needed, but they will be expected to reduce the fees, putting additional financial pressures on them, on top of VAT on school fees.
Instead, more state school pupils will have their needs met in mainstream schools, where government investment will be made in special units and provision.
The number of pupils with council-funded education, health and care plans (EHCPs) attending specialist private schools tripled from 10,000 in 2016 to 30,000 this year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The think-tank found that growth in spending on private-school fees accounts for nearly a quarter of the total rise in high-needs expenditure since 2018, with private-school SEND places costing an average of £62,000 per head. This is more than twice the cost of a state sector place at £24,000.
Councils in England have spent more than £3.7bn on private-school SEND places in the last three years, ITV reported.
From 2028/29, the cost of SEND provision will be fully absorbed into existing central Government budgets to remove the burden from cash-strapped local authorities Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, announced in last week’s Budget.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned that this change will create a £6bn shortfall, potentially leaving a significant gap in the core schools budget.
SEND parents fear the reforms could be overambitious in the given time frame.
Hayley Harding, a parent and founder of the Let Us Learn Too campaign, said: “Many parents we speak to would happily have their children attend a state-funded setting, but the truth is that the places just don’t exist for them.
“If the Government wants to reduce spending on privately funded placements by providing more itself, this can be done. But creating that provision will take time and an initial investment. A target of 28/29 is very ambitious.”
