Essex Education chiefs today hit back at criticism of the help they give children with special needs.

The authority came under fire after the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA), a national parent support group, reported a 100 per cent rise in parental complaints.

IPSEA, which helps parents fight for youngsters experiencing problems with mainstream schools, received helpline calls from more than 200 parents - the highest from any of the country's 142 education authorities.

There were also 101 appeals against the council, putting Essex in 26th place nationally.

Support worker John Wright said: "We know from our statistics that something is very wrong. Essex has by far the highest single number of requests for help from parents in the country."

But the county's principal educational psychologist Andre Imich said the figures gave a very one-sided view.

"The support group will only get to hear from people who are not satisfied," he said. "We have a lot of evidence of parents who are very happy.

"We issued 70 statements in September and carried out a survey of those parents. Eighty-five per cent got into their first choice school, and 90 per cent said that the information that we provided was very helpful.

"The Government is asking us to educate special needs children in mainstream schools," Mr Imich added. "We are committed to this, and are doing it very well.

"It often costs us more to do, but we believe it is the right thing to do."

"Some parents want their children in special schools and these are the ones who turn to IPSEA."

Essex has 200,000 schoolchildren, more than any other authority. The education authority claimed this, the county's socio-economic make-up and a growing awareness of groups like IPSEA were behind the high figures.

A spokesman said: "There is a growing awareness that parents can complain about decisions made and go to outside agencies for help, and we actively encourage that.

"The public in Essex are not shy to speak their mind and we would say there is not a problem particular to the county."

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