Today, Monday 3^rd March, is national offer day for secondary schools, when families find out if they have secured their first choice of secondary school for their children.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “This can be an anxious time for families. Choosing the right school and securing a place there is a huge moment in a child’s life and not everyone will get their first choice.

“There is particular concern this year for children with special or additional needs, where families are trying to navigate a broken SEND system. There remains a hugely unfair postcode lottery when it comes to support for pupils with the most severe needs.

“There will be too many cases across the country where a specialist place is the parental preference for a child with SEND but, due to lack of capacity, mainstream schools are being asked to provide a place instead and support them. Any pupils in such circumstances deserve the full provision they would have received in the unavailable specialist place, but clearly, for this to succeed, the mainstream school would need the full funding that the specialist place would have received.

“Simply asking mainstream schools to support more pupils with SEND without providing the essential staffing, funding and resources they require could have a detrimental effect on those children and young people with SEND, as well as their peers, especially if schools have to redirect funding they had previously committed elsewhere.

“It is important that we have a clear picture of the level of need within the system, in order for sufficient appropriate places to be made available. For that, more granular data on pupil need is required, and NAHT called on the previous government to publish the available provision against the known levels and types of pupil need.

“Without action, we risk a whole generation of young people missing out on the first-class support and education they deserve, and the anxious wait for families uncertain whether they will get a suitable school place for their child will continue.”