The government has proposed changes to how it allocates funding to councils for children with SEN through the so-called “high-needs” element of the dedicated schools grant (DSG).
Unions have criticised the changes, stating that they only deal with how local authorities are funded at a national level. This, they claim, means that inconsistencies in how much children are funded across the country will remain.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the National Association of School Business Managers (NASBM) have warned the Department for Education (DfE) the proposals could still create situations where a child with SEN would receive £2,000 in in one part of the country, and £20,000 in another.
“This is clearly unacceptable and the DfE needs to develop parameters and controls to ensure that funding is fairly distributed within local authorities,” the unions said in a joint statement.
The unions also criticised the government’s plans to cut funding to mainstream schools with special units from £10,000 to £6,000 per place. They “strongly oppose” this, they said, because it will “only deal with how local authorities are funded at a national level".
“Such a move would be disastrous for such units, leading to potential closures,” they said.
NAHT and NASBM have called on the government to extend the £10,000 funding to SEN specialist units in mainstream post-16 settings, as well as in special schools and colleges.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of NAHT, said the proposals for the high needs funding formula have “not gone far enough”.
“Proposals fail to tackle the discrepancy in how different local authorities allocate top-up funding to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities. This creates some of the greatest inequities in school funding.”
Last month voices from the sector said the changes in funding could reduce support for children with SEN.
The DfE has said it is considering the responses to the consultation.
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