Special needs crisis 'creates pipeline from school exclusion to criminal exploitation'

The crisis in special needs education has left children vulnerable to criminal and sexual exploitation, experts have warned, as parents of victims describe years of failed attempts to get support.

- Chris Osuh

Last year, 7,432 children were referred to the national referral mechanism – the framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and slavery in England and Wales. A "high proportion" of such cases involve children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), according to a study funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre.

Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), working with the University of Portsmouth, said that with waits of up to four years for assessments, and 75% of the 1.6 million children with Send not having an education, health and care plan, children with Send face higher rates of school exclusion, leaving them isolated and vulnerable to sexual predators and drugs gangs.