Children with special educational needs and disabilities are being put at risk of "slipping the net" as a result of the government's VAT raid on private schools, it has been warned.

As part of the Autumn Budget, the government has announced that from January, private schools will be charged VAT on their fees - a move that is subject to a legal challenge.

It has left independent schools fearing for their financial futures and bracing themselves for an exodus of pupils as parents assess whether they can still afford private education.

And Caroline Pain, vice chairman of governors at Langley School, which has sites in Taverham and Loddon, has warned it will likely be children with the most acute needs that will suffer the most.

(Image: Langley School)

She said that struggles in navigating the public system locally had resulted in some families opting to enter private education to ensure their children can receive additional support while they are awaiting assessments and education plans.

These families, she suspects, will be those most affected by increased fees and therefore most likely to have to walk away.

She said: "Things are particularly challenging for children with SEND in our area and if their parents can not afford to keep up with the fees, where are they going to go? They're going to slip the net."

While the policy will mean that schools are able to also claim back VAT on certain things, such as travel costs and infrastructure projects, for smaller sites this will not come close to offsetting the impact.

She said: "At Langley we've worked out we are able to absorb about 3.5pc of the extra charges, so have reduced our baseline fees by this, but this will be a 16.5pc increase in real terms.

"It feels like the government has taken a real blunt instrument approach which has treated smaller independent schools the same as large ones like Eton.

"We're also incredibly disappointed with the timing and speed of the change - happening midway through the school year."