MP urges Government to stop disincentivising schools from taking children with special needs

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has pushed the Government to change its policy on school funding which is putting off schools from choosing to take on children with special needs.

Speaking during a debate on school funding in Parliament, Tim said the fact that local schools had to pay for the first 11 hours of support for a child with additional and special needs was resulting in it being too expensive for a school to accept children with extra needs.

Tim said: "Surely it can't be right that head teachers are left in a situation where the more pupils they have with special needs, the worse it is financially for their school.

"We all want our kids to have the best start in life, but those children with special needs are having that chance taken away as a result of the Government's ill-thought out policy."