£1.2 Billion on Transporting SEND Pupils: What This Really Tells Us

This week, ITV News revealed that councils across England spent £1.2 billion transporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to school over the past three years. On the surface, this might sound like a positive, councils fulfilling their legal duty to get children to suitable schools. But scratch beneath the headline, and the figure highlights a deeper problem: the lack of local, suitable provision.

What the Numbers Show

Between 2022/23 and 2024/25, 169,349 SEND pupils were transported to education settings by their Local Authority.

Numbers rose from 51,415 to 61,934 in three years.

Costs jumped from £369 million to £462 million in the same period.

The Local Government Association now estimates transport costs could hit £2 billion in 2025/26.

Councils must provide transport if the nearest suitable school is beyond walking distance or if a child’s SEND makes it unreasonable for them to walk. For many families, transport is the only way their child can access education.

Why Is This Happening?

Campaigners are clear: spiralling transport budgets reflect a failure to provide enough suitable schools locally.

If children had appropriate provision near their homes, there would be less need for costly daily journeys.

The Human Impact

Behind the numbers are families waking up at dawn, children travelling for hours each day, and parents left feeling their child is being shunted out of sight rather than supported locally.

Long journeys are tiring, disruptive, and often isolating. For some children, it means being far removed from their community and opportunities to socialise. For parents, it raises the painful question: why isn’t there a suitable school closer to home?

The Political Debate

Politicians across parties have raised alarm:

Helen Hayes MP (Labour) described SEND as “the single biggest challenge in the education system.”

Greg Stafford MP (Conservative) warned that removing EHCPs would be “disastrous” and “ideological.”

Roz Savage MP (Lib Dem) cautioned that cutting legal rights to save money would fail children and cost more in the long run.

Our View

The £1.2 billion figure should not be seen as waste, it is evidence of unmet need. Families don’t choose long commutes; they are forced into them because the right schools don’t exist locally.

Investing in local, specialist provision would:

Reduce transport costs in the long term

Keep children closer to their communities

Ease the burden on families

Improve attendance, wellbeing, and outcomes.

Transport should be a bridge, not a sticking plaster. The government’s upcoming White Paper must focus on building capacity locally, not cutting rights.

Final Thoughts

Every child has the right to a suitable education. If councils are spending billions just to get children to school, it tells us the system is not designed around children’s needs. The answer is not to cut transport, it is to create schools and provision where children live.

Because children shouldn’t have to travel miles just to find somewhere they belong.