Support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) could be transformed by a major decision by Sheffield City Council later today.

The council will decide whether to accept more than £10m in funding for SEND provision at a Strategy and Resources meeting held at Town Hall at 2pm.

It is hoped that high quality, specialist support will prevent children needing to leave mainstream education, and help those who have already left to return. In total, 220 new special education places could be created.

Plans have already been scrapped for two specialist free schools and, according to a council press release the £10.34m funding will “instead invest directly in Sheffield’s neighbourhoods, meeting needs earlier and closer to home.”

It also reflects Sheffield’s strategic focus on belonging, which aims to enable more children to access the right support in their own community, strengthen earlier identification and intervention, and ensure families see benefits much sooner than the free school route.

Cllr Dawn Dale, Chair of the Education, Children and Families Policy Committee, said: “By developing flexible, localised provision we can meet needs earlier, reduce barriers to inclusion, and make sure every child has the opportunity to thrive and feel like they belong.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Tom Hunt, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee, said: “This is a decision driven by what Sheffield’s children need. That is high-quality support, delivered locally, and rooted in a sense of belonging.”

The meeting comes on the back of a government announcement made in December for more than £3 billion in national high needs funding over the next four years.

Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, has promised to “cut the disadvantage gap in half” at a press conference held this morning.

She said: “We can be spending money better within this system, that is why we are going to act to reduce the big expansion of independent specialist provision.”

The Education Secretary said private-equity backed schools often led to students being sent hours away in taxis, undermining local community provision.

She acknowledged that parental confidence is low in the system, and said “taking our time to get this right is essential.”

The decision made today must be submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) by Friday 27 February, with the first injection of money expected this summer, if the Council agrees to accept the funding.