Thousands of children in England are missing out on the support for special educational needs they are legally entitled to.

For some, this means they do not have a school place at all, as councils' special needs budgets slip into the red.

Dorset is among the areas already overspending, as the council tries to keep up with increasing demand.

But there is hope that new initiatives - like specially-designed 'pods' in mainstream primary schools - could help cut spiralling costs.