Several special schools in Northumberland were over capacity last academic year, new figures show.

Data from the Department for Education shows nearly two-thirds of special schools were full or overcrowded across England.

The figures show seven of the nine special schools in Northumberland were over capacity in the 2022-23 school year.

Across England, 63 per cent of 1,077 special schools had at least met capacity, with around 4,000 more pupils than places.

The Department for Education said this "may be a result of the way capacity has been measured, which does not take account of type of need."

The figures further show nearly a quarter of state secondary schools across England were full or overcrowded, largely unchanged from a year before.

In Northumberland, three of 30 schools were at or above capacity.

Meanwhile, 17 per cent of primary schools across the country were facing the same issue – with seven of them in Northumberland.

In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor promised £105 million over the next four years to build more than a dozen new special free schools.