Oxfordshire families applied to tribunals to overturn nearly 100 council decisions on disabled children's education last year, figures reveal.

Ministry of Justice data shows 92 appeals were submitted to the Special Educational Needs and Disability tribunal in Oxfordshire in 2020.

The number was up from 70 the year before and more than twice the 32 appeals in 2014.

Children and young people who require extra support for their education are assessed by the local authority.

If it is deemed their needs cannot be met in mainstream education, an Education Health and Care plan is issued, defining the support the child needs.

This is reviewed every 12 months.

Disability charity Contact said the system for getting support in school was not working for many children.

Amanda Batten, Contact's chief executive, said: "Families were so busy not only home schooling, but also being nurse, physio and therapist.

"While the guidance was that schools remain open to some children with SEN during lockdown, in practice many were not in school.

"In addition, the support disabled children sometimes access through school including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and psychotherapy disappeared, and in some cases they are still not back to pre-pandemic levels."

Across England, while the number of appeals registered rose to 7,843 in 2020, the proportion of outcomes appealed dropped slightly to 1.7%, from 1.8% in 2019.