A local authority will ask the government for millions of pounds so it can cope with the demands of educating children with special educational needs (SEN).

Medway Council is facing a £20 million deficit within the budget it has to educate this group of children.

According to a report presented to councillors ahead of yesterday's cabinet meeting, the percentage of children in the Towns with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is marginally higher than the national average - 4.2% compared to 4% respectively.

Additionally, 32% of the children with a EHCP attend mainstream schools compared with 40% nationally, but the number who go to a special school is on the increase.

The government hands money to local authorities to fund schools through the Dedicated Schools Grant, which is split into various blocks, including early years and high needs provision.

The council's budget for the high needs block was £45.5 million for 2021/22 and officers say there is already a £20.8 million deficit.

Cabinet approved plans to apply for £17.7 million from the government's Safety Valve Intervention Programme, which aims to aid authorities which have high deficits in education spending.

The report states how, if the bid is successful, the deficit will be recovered by 2026, by which time, there is expected to be 557 more pupils with EHCPs than in January this year, when there were 2,697.

Cllr Martin Potter (Con), portfolio holder for education and schools, said: "This is not a magic bullet.

"The reason why we have a deficit within the high needs block is because of the high level of challenge there is in providing these high needs places in a sustainable way."

Cllr Adrian Gulvin (Con), added: "We have got fantastic facilities, we have got some fantastic teachers.

"Trouble is, the government hasn't given us the proper funding to carry that work on and we find ourselves in this situation.

"It really is a shame that the government hasn't stepped up to the plate with this and funded this provision properly and left us in an awful budget position."