A plan to improve support for Norfolk's SEND children - which will see £185m of debt cleared from Norfolk County Council's balance sheet - has been approved by the government.
Leaders at County Hall hailed the decision as an "important milestone", amid growing demand and costs around support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Norfolk has a higher proportion of children getting extra support for special educational needs than almost anywhere else in the country and leaders say the plan will help to make sure they get that help as soon as possible.
The Reform-led council submitted its three-year plan in the summer, after the government said all local authorities had to publish and submit a local SEND reform plan to outline how it would make improvements after government reforms.
Wendy Atkinson, cabinet member for children, families and SEND at County Hall, said: “This is an important milestone and reflects the tremendous commitment shown by children and young people, families, education providers, colleges, health partners, community organisations and practitioners across Norfolk, who worked together to shape the plan.
"We know the current system remains challenging for many families.
“The approval provides a strong foundation for the next phase of delivery. This is not the start of Norfolk's improvement journey.
"We have already made significant investments to strengthen inclusion, increase specialist capacity and improve early intervention.
"We are now building on that progress to deliver even greater improvements for children, young people and families.”
The plan includes spending millions of pounds on more specialist resource bases - where children are taught in dedicated classrooms while still being part of mainstream schools.
Mainstream schools will also get increased specialist advice and support.
Another aim is to reduce waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments to 18 weeks by 2028.
Parents in Norfolk have long complained about lengthy delays in getting such assessments, against a backdrop of surging demand - up 130pc in five years.
But another significant impact of the plan's approval is that the government will repay about 90pc of the council's historic deficit accrued in providing SEND support. Costs having long outstripped the money the authority has got from government.
Ms Atkinson said: "I'm pleased that the Department for Education has advised that this is expected to happen at the end of November this year.”
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