Councils have been forced to find more cash to keep a special school trust afloat, after it claimed insufficient funding had left it paying wages from its reserves.
The Queensmill Trust, which runs two schools in west London, is now fighting not only for its financial survival but to keep its flagship school after receiving a government warning notice last week.
Experts and school leaders said it highlighted the wider financial challenges for special schools, including a reliance on local authority goodwill to pass on extra government cash.
Yet a shortage of places means that councils themselves are also heavily reliant on special schools to avoid paying for more costly private provision.
