Rachel Maclean MP has celebrated news that the county is set to receive £8.2 million in special needs education funding.

The funding will go towards ensuring children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) receive a higher quality education.

This is part of the government's record annual investment of £850 million into councils to create new places for SEND and AP pupils in both mainstream and special schools.

 

 

Read more: Redditch: A fifth of children living in poverty

 

 

The funding aims to provide specialist support for children with autism, learning difficulties, mobility difficulties, and more to meet their extra needs.

108 new special schools have been opened since 2010, with 92 more on the way, including a new Autism Free School in Worcestershire.

The investment represents a tripling in previous funding, making up a £2.6 billion package from 2022 to 2025.

As a result, there are set to be 60,000 more special needs places compared to 2010.

Rachel Maclean MP said: "I want every child in Redditch and the Villages to have the same opportunity to meet their potential, so it is vital that children with SEND and AP get the support and resources they need.

"I’ve met many families and children in my surgeries and on my visits and I know how important this provision is to them.

"I’m therefore pleased to see the Conservative Government is investing £8,284,205 in Worcestershire, which will deliver the education that meets the needs of children with SEND, as the Conservative Government sticks to the plan to deliver on their promise of a brighter future for this generation and the next."