The government is being warned that its reforms to special educational needs and disabilities support could become a missed opportunity - unless it gives schools and councils a clearer long-term funding plan.
A group of the country’s typically lowest-funded education authorities has warned that the reforms are starting to take shape without councils having a full picture of how the system will be funded in the future.
Earlier this year the Department for Education announced plans for a major overhaul of SEND provision, which included changes to how education, health and care plans (EHCPs) operate and an increased expectation for inclusion in mainstream schools.
It has set the expectations that every secondary school has an inclusion base and that all schools produce inclusion strategies by the end of this year. It has awarded schools the first year of inclusive mainstream fund cash to support these changes.
The DfE has also called on councils to recruit “experts at hand” to support pupils with SEND in schools, and for every council to produce a SEND reform plan setting out how the changed system will work in their area.
Call for a long-term SEND funding plan
However, Phil Haslett, interim chair of the f40 group of local councils, has warned that for the reforms to be successful the system needs more clarity on future funding plans.
“All parts of the system are looking for a long-term funding strategy, which, at the moment, is absent,” he said.
“Schools have visibility of one year’s funding through the inclusive mainstream fund, but are not clear on what this will look like in year two or three.”
He added that schools are being asked to write an inclusion strategy with “limited visibility of the funding they will receive to deliver the strategy” at a time of “significant changes to pensions” and falling pupil rolls, both of which will affect their finances.
Mr Haslett said of the wider SEND reforms: “These are exciting opportunities, but with limited visibility of the long-term funding position, we could miss the chance to maximise the opportunities in front of us.”
When the in February this year, its proposals included “streamlining the current school funding landscape by clearly identifying each school’s share of core funding for inclusion”.
The f40 group is now calling for a long-term vision of how the wider system will work and be funded.
In response, a DfE spokesperson said: “Our £4 billion-backed SEND reforms will make sure that every child gets the right support, locally, without a fight - and we’re investing now so the system is ready for this transformation.
“We’ve been clear that there is no requirement for schools to develop a multi-year inclusion strategy and have committed to consistent instalments of the £1.6 billion inclusive mainstream fund over the next three years to help them plan effectively.”
The DfE spokesperson added: “That’s on top of over £5 billion in SEND funding in this year’s core schools budget while we develop plans to direct more into core budgets to give settings greater certainty for the future.”
The inclusive mainstream fund, launched earlier this year, is being provided for three years, with around £500 million available each financial year for schools, colleges and early years settings meaning funding allocations are expected to remain broadly consistent.
Rebalancing funding
The government believes the current system has become increasingly reliant on individual EHCP top-up funding, and that this makes it harder for schools to plan proactively and respond flexibly to children’s needs.
It plans to rebalance funding, directing more into the core budgets of schools and colleges while maintaining strong support for those with the most complex needs.
Earlier this year it consulted on councils being able to introduce their own local SEND inclusion formulas, which would give mainstream schools more upfront funding for pupils with SEND.
Currently, schools operate under a system whereby they are expected to find the first £6,000 of the cost of provision for pupils with SEND from their existing core budget before seeking additional funding.
This £6,000 cap has been in place for more than 10 years and is referred to as a school’s notional SEND budget.
The government is proposing to give councils the ability to apply to give more high-needs funding directly to schools through their core funding, but then to also increase the amount schools are expected to spend on provision for a pupil with SEND before being able to seek additional funding.
It is yet to publish its response to the SEND reforms consultation carried out earlier this year, or to the local inclusion formula consultation that closed last month.
Fears of record SEND deficits
The reform process is taking place at a time when local councils are warning they could face a critical financial situation as a result of the deficits built up through spending on SEND.
The government has said that it will clear 90 per cent of the high-needs deficits accrued by the end of the 2025-26 financial year - estimated to be worth around £5 billion nationally - for areas that have their local SEND reform plans approved.
The DfE has said it has approved more than 90 per cent of these local plans and the remaining areas can resubmit their plans before November.
However, it has been warned that despite the government clearing much of these SEND deficits, councils could still fear dire financial circumstances as debts are already rising rapidly again.
Councils’ SEND deficits could reach a record £10.4 billion by March 2028 even after accounting for the government’s bailout, the County Councils Network (CCN) warned earlier this month.
The government has also said that from 2028-29 onwards the cost of the SEND system will be met from central rather than local government.
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