By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
Cheshire East Council is paying £3,000 more per pupil than most equivalent councils to transport some children to school each year.
This includes paying on average £71 for a 10-mile taxi journey or £118 for a 20-mile journey – way above the expected £21 or £41 costs respectively.
Dozens of children with special needs were “left in limbo” after Cheshire East Council failed to meet 2019 school allocation deadline, say specialist lawyers.
Experts say 34 SEN children out of a total of 134 suffered delays in receiving their transition education healthcare plans or statements for 2019.
By Stephen Topping, local democracy reporter
Work is under way to improve services for youngsters with special educational needs (SEN) in Cheshire East following a damning inspection last year.
Cheshire East Council and local NHS providers were criticised following a joint inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted last March – with inspectors hitting out at ‘serious weaknesses’ in provision.
Cheshire East councillors have backed a £1 million expansion of a school in South Cheshire for children with special educational needs.
Springfield Special School, in Crewe, is to increase from 132 pupils places to 156 under proposals backed by the council’s cabinet.
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