Lib Dems set out plans to stop SEND services being 'cash cows'

Council spending on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities has soared in recent years.

‘They’re not listening!’: the government’s gamble on special education reform – podcast

Political correspondent Alexandra Topping and special educational needs student Jake with his mum, Laura, explore the government’s controversial plans for reform Next week, the government is expected to announce its education white paper. It is a moment, as political correspondent Alexandra Topping explains, of high political peril. Part of the proposals will be reforms to special educational needs provision in England. And while nearly all agree that the current system is broken – extremely expensive, very divisive, and failing the most vulnerable children – the mood around the announcements is still tense. Simply put, many disability rights campaigners fear the reforms are not about improving the system, but cutting costs. Continue reading...

By Presented by Annie Kelly with Alexandra Topping; produced by Ruth Abrahams, Ivor Manley, Eleanor Biggs and Brian McNamara

Private equity firms are ‘cashing in’ in on broken Send system, Lib Dems say

Lib Dems leader Sir Ed Davey has called for the Send sector to be given legal protections

By Rhiannon James