CHILDREN with special educational needs are being forced to travel long distances to school due to a lack of suitable provision near home, councils warned today.

Home-to-school transport budgets are under “considerable pressure” as many special schools are full, pushing pupils to attend schools further away, according to a new report from the Local Government Association (LGA).

Council spending on transporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is forecast to reach £1.97 billion in 2025-26, up from £1.73bn in 2023-24 and £645 million in 2015-16.

The average one-way trip for pupils with Send is nine miles — but one county council reported 22.8 miles.

Councils said a “growing minority” of pupils are travelling very long distances due to a lack of nearby school places.

The report warned that meeting statutory duties for transport is becoming “increasingly financially unsustainable” for local authorities.

Over five years, councils have reported a 40 per cent rise in under-16s with Send needing school transport.

Margaret Mulholland, Send and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “No children should be required to travel long distances in order to access suitable provision. 

“This is another example of the Send system not working well for anybody. 

“Special schools are oversubscribed, mainstream schools are struggling to provide for the growing numbers of children with identified special needs, and local authorities are in a very difficult financial position. 

“We urgently need to overhaul the system by creating new special school places, ensuring mainstream schools are equipped to support all pupils, and writing off local authority debts.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said the government is considering changes to “enable more children to thrive in mainstream settings and stop parents having to fight for help, while bringing about financial sustainability for councils.”