Reform UK has unveiled a radical proposal to address the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, suggesting that disused churches across the country should be converted into local specialist schools.
A Vision to End Lengthy Taxi Journeys
Announcing the plan at a Westminster press conference, the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, painted a picture of a system where children no longer face daily commutes of 60 to 90 minutes in taxis to reach appropriate education. He highlighted that these transport arrangements cost local councils millions of pounds annually.
Mr Tice argued that creating more local facilities would dramatically improve the lives of pupils and their families. "Imagine a system where children don't have to travel in a taxi every day," he said. "Imagine having a specialist school in rural areas within two or three villages away."
Churches as a Community Solution
The core of the proposal involves utilising redundant Church of England buildings that currently may only be used one day a week for worship. Tice cited an example of a school in northern England that successfully rents a church five days a week.
"Imagine specialist schools for differently abled children using those churches, reopening churches that have indeed been made redundant," he stated. "What a great thing that would be for the Church of England to show real leadership."
Challenging Private Equity and Government Policy
Mr Tice used the announcement to launch a sharp critique of current SEND funding and provision. He questioned why the Labour government is allowing private equity firms to profit from running special schools that he claims "charge more than Eton."
He contrasted this with the government's policy of scrapping some state-funded specialist schools and removing the VAT exemption from private schools. "It's ironic," Tice insisted, "that we've got a socialist government that wants to tax charitable schools providing great education, but that is seemingly quite happy to scrap more specialist state-sponsored schools and have more private equity-owned specialist schools charging three times the price."
When asked if his party sought cuts to the £10 billion-a-year SEND budget, Tice responded that simply "pouring more money" does not guarantee improvement. He advocated for smarter spending, suggesting councils could rent churches, use them full-time, spend less, and still achieve excellent outcomes with dedicated teachers.
An Apology and a Working Group
The press conference also saw Mr Tice apologise for previous comments that had caused offence, specifically a claim that SEND provision was being "hijacked by parents who are abusing the system." He acknowledged the hurt caused but defended the need to discuss challenging issues.
"We have to talk about difficult issues, challenging issues, in a way that sometimes is uncomfortable," he said, "because if we're not prepared to do that, we'll never make progress."
The proposals form part of the initial work of a new Reform UK 'working group' tasked with developing the party's comprehensive policy on the SEND system. The group will examine how to deliver better value and outcomes within the existing substantial budget.
