CHESHIRE East Council has corrected inaccurate figures it published about special educational needs children.

It was reported in national newspapers on August 8 that 89 out of 112 SEND children in the borough had missed out on secondary school transition plans, ranking it the worst in the UK with a 79 per cent shortfall.

CEC has said that it published inaccurate figures due to a misreading of a freedom of information request, and that in fact 23 children had not received their plans prior to February 15 deadline.

Cllr George Hayes, CEC cabinet member for children and families, said: “Due to an administrative error, we can confirm that 23 children with SEND didn’t have a named secondary school on their education, health and care plan by the February deadline.

“This represents 21 per cent of the total, not 79 per cent which has been previously reported.

“I can now confirm that all of these 23 children have the necessary and appropriate provision in place.

“Having the right amount and type of provision for our children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities is important to us.

“We recognise that we need to increase the number of specialist school places in the borough, as the current number doesn’t match our requirements.”

The EHCP plans have a statutory deadline of February 15 and confirm a child’s secondary school and how much funding is available to them.

If they are not delivered on time, then parents could be left unsure about which school their child is moving to.

They are also unable to appeal against the contents of the plan until they receive the final copy.

It aims to make the transition as easy as possible to children who might find the experience stressful.

Out of 13,790 children in the UK who needed EHCP plans, 11,657 were delivered on time.