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Schools educating the country’s most vulnerable children must not be “robbed” of their share of the £2.3 billion funding boost, ministers were warned as new analysis suggests scores of councils did not pass on previous SEND uplifts.

The government has yet to confirm how next year’s extra cash, announced at the autumn statement, will be distributed.

Schools Week investigations have revealed how some councils seized millions of pounds in previous funding boosts, with special schools having to go with “begging bowls” or threaten legal action to get cash.

A total of £1.2 billion in extra cash this year was passed straight to mainstream schools. But £325 million allocated for special and alternative provision schools went to councils as part of their high-needs budgets.

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