Special education spend 'keeps me up at night'

12 January 2026

Vikki IrwinSuffolk political reporter

News image — Children with Send needs study at 16 specialist schools across Suffolk, or at hubs in mainstream schools

Gooderham PR Two students in light blue polo tops are sitting with their backs to the camera. Their identity is obscured. In the background you can see a large screen on the wall a teacher who is blurred out. — Children with Send needs study at 16 specialist schools across Suffolk, or at hubs in mainstream schools

Suffolk's education budget is heading for a £250m deficit by 2028 due to increased spending on special education, according to the Conservative-run county council.

The dedicated schools grant (DSG) is given to all local education authorities by central government to pay for education and the special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

Richard Smith, cabinet member for finance at Suffolk County Council, said the figure in the latest council budget report was "one of the issues that keeps me up at night".

The Labour government is due to reform the Send system which it said aimed to create "financial sustainability for councils".

In 2023, the council said it had 7,200 children who had an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which meant they had a statutory right to a specialist education.

The council said the current figure was 11,580 children.

Vikki Irwin/BBC A photo of councillor Richard Smith. He is facing the camera and smiling. He is wearing a black suit with a red and white striped shirt underneath. Behind him is an office-style room. — Richard Smith says servicing the education debt means other services cannot be funded

Other councils across the East of England are facing a similar situation, BBC research has found.

Successive governments have said the DSG deficit does not need to be added to council budget sheets under what is known as a statutory override.

Smith, who is also Suffolk County Council's deputy leader, said the deficit was one of the "most serious financial challenges facing the council".

"Demand for specialist education support has grown rapidly, but government funding hasn't kept up," he said.

"The council still has to cover the interest of the debt even if they do not have the overspend on their books."

The cost of servicing that debt is estimated to reach £8.9m in 2026-27, which Smith said was money "we can't use to fund other local services".

Settings enhance 'life prospects'

Vikki Irwin/BBC The room is dimly lit with, low fluorescent lights on. It has fibre optic on the floor with colourful mats in yellow and red. It has columns with lights and bubbles in one corner with mirrors. — The sensory room at Churchill has variable lighting, fibre optics and vibrating pads

Suffolk has a mixture of special schools, and Send hubs in mainstream schools.

Four of the 16 specialist schools in Suffolk are run by the Unity Schools Partnership, including the Churchill Special Free School in Haverhill, which has been rated outstanding by Ofsted school inspectors.

The children there have social and emotional needs and are offered a GCSE curriculum and life skills.

Vikki Irwin/BBC A head and chest image of a man in a library at a school with shelves the book cases with rows of colourful books in the back ground. The head is wearing a blue suit, shirt and tie. He has a purple lanyard on and is smiling at the camera — Chris Komodromos says special schools need space and appropriate staff to be successful

The school building has been fitted out to support them with their sensory needs —for example having carpeted floors, low ceilings and wide corridors.

There are also specialist calm and sensory rooms, as well as a science laboratory and small classrooms.

Head teacher Chris Komodromos said: "The environment is really, really important for children with autism; it's important the environment is not over-stimulating.

"The classrooms are a particular size with a particular number of tables or a particular number of pupils."

The costs of facilities and specialist staff, laid out in education and health care plans, all add up, he said.

"For a special school to be successful we need to have speech and language therapist on site, occupational therapists on site and also a pastoral team," said Komodromos.

And if this setting was not available the children would "struggle and then it affects their attendance, their self-esteem and their future life prospects as well", he added.

In all the Unity Partnership has 3,500 SEND pupils across its 40 schools in Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Romford in east London.

Families failed for 'too long'

The government is due to publish a white paper in the spring on how it plans to manage Send and its funding going forward.

What will happen to council overspends is not clear.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "For too long, families have been failed by the Send system... with parents across the country forced to fight for every scrap of support and rising demand meaning children's needs are spiralling to crisis point.

"Our changes will make sure children get support at the earliest stage, while bringing about financial sustainability for councils. We are clear that any deficit from 2028-29 onwards will be absorbed within the overall government budget.

"We will continue engaging with parents, teachers and local authorities and will set out our full plans to reform the system through the Schools White Paper early this year."