Reading Borough Council spent £338k educating one disabled boy for a year £46,000 per child to educate 11,500 disabled youngsters privately Reading Borough Council paid £307,183 to educate one boy for one year Merton Council spent £304,272 on secondary education for a child Councils accused of wasting money - because neighbouring authorities were able to educate severely disabled children for a fraction of the price A council spent £338,000 on private education for just one disabled boy in the last academic year, it can be revealed. Authorities paid £525million to teach nearly 11,500 youngsters with special needs in independent schools nationwide - which works out at nearly £46,000 per child. Disabled children educated privately have either severe physical disabilities, behavioural problems, emotional difficulties or suffer from severe autism. Private sector: Councils paid £525million to educate 11,500 children in independent schools in the last academic year. While some authorities were able to educate the majority of pupils in their own schools, others racked up large bills putting children in private schools But while some authorities are able to teach youngsters in their own state-run special schools, others hand thousands of pounds over to the private sector instead. Critics have said this is often not in the child's or the parents' best interests because the special schools can be a long way from home. Campaign groups also questioned whether local authorities are getting good value because of the huge annual bills. Wiltshire Council paid £338,000 to educate one disabled boy in a secondary school last year, according to the figures released to MailOnline under the Freedom of Information Act. The money pays for the child's education, transport and day-to-day healthcare costs. Responses from 124 local education authorities revealed 11,459 special needs pupils were educated privately last year. Reading Borough Council paid £307,183 to educate one male pupil in a secondary school while Merton Council, in London, spent £304,272 on secondary education for a child. In contrast, Wolverhampton City Council managed to educate 31 pupils privately at a cost of £1,730,965. Specialist care: Disabled children educated privately have either severe physical disabilities, behavioural problems, emotional difficulties or suffer from severe autism (picture posed by models) The most they paid for education was £90,241 to teach a secondary school boy - less than a third of the bills elsewhere. Wiltshire Council - one secondary school boy cost £338,000 to educate Reading Borough Council - £307,183, boy, secondary school London Borough of Merton- £304,272 on secondary education Essex County Council - £298,606, boy, secondary school Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead - £298,042, boy, secondary school Liverpool City Council - £295,100, no further details given Derby City Council - £290,040, girl, secondary school North East Lincolnshire Council - £290,000, boy, secondary school Hull City Council - £289,725, boy, secondary school Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council - £287,302, boy, secondary school The huge disparity in the cost of private school places for disabled children was seized upon by critics as evidence that some authorities are not getting good value for money. Chris McGovern, chairman for the Campaign for Real Education, said the figures show some local education authorities are overspending on private schools for children with special needs. "There are some children who need 24-hour care, some of whom are autistic children, and it is right that resources are devoted to looking after these people," he said. "The figures suggest that while some authorities can look after children "in house" others are having to outsource to the private sector. Huge discrepancies between the amount of money local authorities are spending on education for children with special needs would suggest some are relying too heavily on private providers. This is obviously going to be more expensive for the taxpayer. These discrepancies should not exist - local authorities need to get value for money. Councils have to weigh up getting good value for money and providing the best possible care. Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance said: 'It's important that pupils with special education needs have access to teaching that caters for their requirements. But carting a select few pupils off to private school is neither good value for taxpayers" money nor does it improve special education provisions in mainstream schools. 'Local schools should be able to cater for all pupils rather just those who don't meet requirements that mean they get sent elsewhere. A spokesman for Wiltshire Council defended sending children with special needs to private school and said they were working to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. 'Since 2006 the number of placements of children in independent schools has fallen from well over 140 to between 80 and 90 depending on the time of the year,' he said. This has resulted in savings of over £2million being made from the Dedicated Schools Grant, which has been re-invested in local schools to improve the special educational needs provision available. The needs of some children are so complex and specialised that we will never be in a position to meet them completely within the county, and a single specialist school would not cover the needs of every child. However, we have developed robust procedures to monitor all plans to ensure these children and their families receive the best possible support. A spokesman from the Department for Education said it was for individual councils to decide how best to educate disabled children. Children with special educational needs should be educated in a school which can meet their needs. It is for councils to make decisions about placements based on the individual needs of the child,' he said. Special free schools and academies are giving parents of children with SEN more choice within the state sector, with open and approved special free schools providing more than 1,100 places.