A headteacher has used a prestigious platform to call for further funding for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

Dorchester Middle School (DMS) has been featured in the latest Parliamentary Review.

Headteacher, Caroline Dearden said it was an 'enormous privilege' to be included in the review.

Miss Dearden penned an article in the review which highlighted the dwindling funding for pupils with SEN.

"As a headteacher, it doesn't happen very often to very many people. I thought, with an opportunity like this, I really wanted to represent the children who I say are doubly disadvantaged," she said. "Not only do they have significant educational needs which need to be overcome but then to have funding cuts which make it more and more challenging for schools to provide the support they need."

The school was the only middle school in the south of England to be featured in the Secondary Education edition of the review where it was praised for its excellent provision and access for children with disabilities and inclusive academic environment.

The review is a guide which highlights good practice in various industries, with an edition for each industry. It’s sent to half a million policy makers and industry leaders in a bid to raise standards.

Schools are selected for inclusion in the review via a variety of criteria including Ofsted results and public perception.

In the review Miss Dearden, who has been headteacher of DMS since January 2017, said: "Headteachers like myself have been hit with a range of extra costs - higher contributions to national insurance and teachers’ pensions, the introduction of the national living wage, pay rises and the apprenticeship levy. Moreover, per-pupil funding is not rising in line with inflation.

"Funding pressures will mean less support for pupils who have additional learning needs. The job of supporting pupils who require specialist one-to-one support in an overpopulated classroom will be almost impossible. Furthermore, as funding is no longer ring-fenced for children with special educational needs many may not get their full entitlement and the future life chances for pupils with physical disabilities or other additional needs may be diminished."

She added that at DMS having disabilities such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy did not stop pupils from having 'big ambitions or bright futures'.

Speaking to the Echo, Miss Dearden said she really wanted to get the message about cuts out there as she had had to make £250,000 worth of savings in her school - something she had managed without a single redundancy - which she said was largely due to funding cuts by the local authority.

"It does impact on what I can provide on a day to day basis," she said. "They are no less human than any other pupil and they have their whole lives to live. We need to look at SEN funding as a priority."