Peterborough to develop new strategy for disabled children as demand rises

Peterborough City Council (PCC) says it’s developing a new strategy to support children with special educational needs and disabilities as demand grows.

Over the past year, the number of requests for children to be assessed for additional education and healthcare needs rose by 20 per cent, the authority says.

As such, services are “stretched”, which has resulted in a proposal for more funding to be spent on them in its budget.

This is currently being drawn up for the 2024/24 financial year and will be finalised next month, when all councillors will be asked to vote on it.

PCC also says it's currently spending around £4m per year on placements for children outside of Peterborough, the majority of which have special needs, on top of a further £1m on transport costs.

It says that work is being undertaken “to see what opportunities there might be to provide transport effectively, at reduced cost” in future, with last year’s spend projected to go over budget.

Placing children in schools outside the area is “not an ideal solution”, PCC adds, but is sometimes necessary when suitable provision can’t be found within.

The council’s previous strategy for children with special educational needs and disabilities runs until 2025, but the process of replacing it has already begun.

This is in part because it was drawn up alongside Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC), which was previously involved in disability services for children in Peterborough.

Now, the city has its own executive board dedicated to them, which brings together local authority representatives as well as those who represent local schools and healthcare services.

It also says that it has “considerably strengthened” its information hub for parents and carers of children with disabilities.

More ideas for the new strategy will be discussed by PCC councillors on 15th January.