One in 10 SEND pupils travel over 23 miles to get to school

According to a new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), some children are living over three miles from a good school, with pupils with SEND having to travel much farther.

The report comes following the launch of the government’s 2016 Schools that Work for Everyone consultation, where ministers argued that more good schools were needed as many children do not live within a reasonable distance of such schools.

The need for greater access to good school places has underpinned the government’s proposals to expand certain types of schools, including free schools, faith schools and selective schools.

According to the EPI, the government has been silent on the 110,000 pupils in special schools in England. This new analysis by the Education Policy Institute assesses whether this omission is justified, by examining how far pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) currently have to travel to get to a special school.

The report found that in cities, the average pupil at an urban special school travels around four miles each way. In rural areas, the average travel distance is 10 miles each way.

In wider city areas, around one in 10 pupils travel around nine miles each way in order to get to school.

In the most rural areas in England around one in 10 special school pupils having to travel over 23 miles one way just to get to school.

Overall, pupils in special schools are, on average, travelling around three times as far as pupils in mainstream schools.