Nationally, 32.1 per cent of pupils in special schools are eligible forfree school meals. But only 13.4 per cent of pupils in secondary schoolsand 16 per cent in nursery and primary schools fall into thiscategory.
The proportion of disadvantaged pupils in special schools varies greatlyacross the country. In some constituencies up to 82 per cent of specialschool pupils are eligible for free school meals.
In 48 constituencies, more than half of children at special schools wereeligible for free school meals.
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, saidthe evidence suggests a link between severe deprivation in the earlyyears and learning difficulties in later life.
"Everything that happens in the first five years of a child's life isvital," he said. "Learning difficulties can be connected to poor dietand a lack of stimulation and socialisation."
Bangs added that initiatives such as Sure Start should be built upon tosupport the most vulnerable families.
"Complementing schools' efforts to enhance learning has to be acommunity and society response to support families that aredysfunctional, particularly in the early years," he said.
Tara Flood, director of the Alliance for Inclusive Education, claimedpoorer families are forced to send their children to special schools,because challenging councils that are unwilling to cater for children inmainstream provision is costly.
She explained: "Finance is a big issue for families who don't have themoney to fight the local authority if they don't want their child to goto a special school. More and more councils try to provide the leastthey can get away with."
Figures released last week in response to a separate parliamentaryquestion show that pupils on free school meals are almost three times aslikely to be persistent truants.
Of pupils eligible for free school meals, 9.3 per cent of boys and 9.2per cent of girls were classed as persistent absentees. Of those noteligible, 3.1 per cent of boys and 3.3 per cent of girls fall into thisgroup.
