‘Incredibly disheartening’ decline in special needs pupil attainment in England

School leaders called for better specialist support and funding to avoid the collapse of England’s special needs educational system. Photograph: Andrew Fox/Alamy

Children with special needs in England have slipped further behind their peers in reading, writing and maths, despite recent legislation and advances in teaching making their education a high priority.

School leaders described the results as “incredibly disheartening”, and called for better specialist support and funding to avoid the collapse of England’s special needs education system.