Responding to the secretary of state for education's comments on SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

"It seems everyone, even the government, now accepts we are in the middle of a full-blown crisis when it comes to SEND.

"However, this hasn’t just come out of nowhere – we have been warning about this for years and it is immensely frustrating just how little progress the government has made on actually tackling the issue.

"Successive secretaries of state have acknowledged the scale of the problem but none have seemingly been able to find the solutions.

"After more than a decade, talk of ‘long-term plans’ and ‘record levels of investment’ will carry little sway with parents and school leaders who are trying to navigate their way through this crisis. If the government does not get a grip, vulnerable young people will continue to suffer.”