CON-DEM cuts are depriving children with special needs and learning difficulties of access to a decent education, teachers warned yesterday.

While public schools for the wealthy elite receive tax-breaks through charitable status, youngsters in need of specialist attention in state schools are being made to suffer.

Delegates representing almost 300,000 teachers in union NASUWT heard that austerity, budget cuts and moving the goalposts on special needs funding, along with a failure to invest in the schools workforce, have resulted in cuts to support, funding and resources.

This has left many youngsters facing even higher barriers to achievement.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: “Education budgets have been slashed across the UK and resources to support some of the most vulnerable children in our schools have suffered as a consequence.

“Children with special educational needs in England have an added disadvantage in that the coalition government has redefined special needs and consequently those who were previously eligible for funding no longer qualify.

“Yet the need remains and schools are left to pick up the pieces.”

Ms Keates argued that supporting children and young people with special needs requires investment in schools and services, not cuts.

“In a publicly funded education service, all children and young people with special educational needs are entitled to have all barriers to achievement removed, not to face those barriers being raised even higher,” she added.