Almost every council is about to go bankrupt while private schools rake in over £8bn from SEND children

Council leaders have warned that four in five local councils will soon face ‘bankruptcy’ from rising special educational needs and disability (SEND) costs. And private schools are compounding the issue.

Tens of billions to private schools

The approaching ‘insolvency’ is largely due to the amount private schools are charging for council budgets.

In 2024, 132,510 SEND pupils were at private schools – a 70% increase on 2016. The vast majority of SEND children have low or middle-income parents who rely on government funding for their school places. Very few are from affluent families who can afford these places for their SEND children.

It costs councils an average of £61,500 per pupil for SEND children to go to private school, because of Labour’s failure to invest SEND capacity in state schools. That means private schools are earning £8.1bn per year from SEND pupils. And the majority of that is coming out of council budgets, with many local authorities demanding higher council tax rises to help pay off increasing deficits.

In fact, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said 95% of councils are operating SEND deficits. And they are cutting services or taking on more debt to pay for it.

Private schools’ SEND places cost almost three times as much as state places. And fee-charging schools can charge over £250,000 to educate SEND children.

SEND pupils must “achieve their potential”

Amanda Hopgood, the chair of the LGA’s children, young people and families committee, said:

Councils are committed to supporting every child and young person to achieve their potential and clearly what is important is that children and young people get the support they need. But under the current system, the rise in support need has left many councils buckling under the strain.

While many private schools are non-profit, they take high salaries and are generally only available to students who are born rich. Hence, they take resources and expertise away from those who attend public ones.

At the same time, neoliberals in government and profiteers in the corporate sector view state funding as a cash cow to be milked. It’s the opposite of efficiency and prudence with state finances. Dressing it up as such is Orwellian.

And when it comes to SEND pupils in private schools, it’s literally extraction to the point of insolvency for councils.

Featured image via the Canary