MORE children with special educational needs and disabilities will have their education in Barnsley in future, rather than having to travel out of the district, under a new council plan.

Numbers of children categorised as having special needs or having an education and health care plan is both rising and higher than the regional and national average.

Barnsley Council accepts there are currently “a consistently high number of pupils continue to have their needs met through out of borough placements.”

A new strategy aims to change that, by making more places available locally, with a knock-on advantage of cutting the time pupils will spend travelling to and from their school.

The council’s ruling cabinet has authorised the work to create more places to move forward.