Children with special educational needs have been ‘failed’ after new government money for special educational needs was only allocated to two special schools in Maidenhead, a councillor has claimed. But council leaders say they’re improving services across the borough.

Councillors at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have agreed to add almost £1.5 million in new government grant funding for special educational needs schools to their budget. It means the council has more than £5 million of grant money to spend.

But Ascot and Sunninghill councillor Julian Sharpe said the south of the borough had been ‘failed’ as only two schools in Maidenhead were named as beneficiaries in council plans.

He said: “I think this is a big loss for the residents in the south of the borough certainly but also for anybody else who doesn’t happen to be in Maidenhead.”

He added: “I think we have in many ways failed residents in the south of the borough.”

The money is part of a government department for education grant scheme called the high needs provision capital allocation. It is given to councils to help them provide more school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In total the Royal Borough has received £5.2 million of this from the government since 2021. The latest £1,485,056.98 was awarded in March this year and formally added to the budget by councillors at a meeting on Wednesday September 26.

Plans say the money will be used to expand Manor Green special school’s sixth form by 20 places and build a 24-place sixth form at Forest Bridge special school, both in Maidenhead.

Conservative councillor Sharpe welcomed the money. But he said pupils in his ward had to make three-hour round trips each day to attend Manor Green on council-funded buses.

He said: “This is supposed to be a borough for everyone and we have Manor Green which is Maidenhead, and we have Forest Bridge in Maidenhead, which means that there is nothing in the south of the borough.”

But Liberal Democrat councillor Amy Tisi – responsible for children’s services – said she was ‘disappointed’ by the claim that the council had failed children with SEND.

She said SEND funding had also gone towards The Canopy, which is a resource for autistic children at South Ascot primary school.

And she added SEND facilities were ‘very, very carefully’ worked out by council staff who are ‘making sure there is good provision everywhere.’

Councillor Tisi also said that most councils only have one specialist school, which often means children have to travel to them. But she added: “That’s why we have home to school transport to support the children with SEND which is a huge cost but a very important cost to the borough.

“There is no deliberate neglect of any part of the borough. We are making sure that all our children from the borough can access the best provision they can as close as they possibly can and we have to allocate our funding extremely carefully.”