Funding for schools to support SEND children to increase by £780m
Neil Puffett
Monday, July 19, 2021
The amount of money provided by government to help schools support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will increase by £780m next year, the government has said.
The boost comes as part of significant increases in high needs funding provided to local authorities to pass on to schools in recent years. An additional £780m was provided in 2020/21, and £730m in 2021/22.
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But concerns have been raised that much of the additional funding has been swallowed up to plug existing deficits, while the number of children on eduction, health and care plans has risen significantly.
The education select committee has previously urged government to commit to a multi-billion cash injection as part of a strategic ten-year education funding plan to help address a projected deficit for local authorities of between £1.2bn and £1.6bn.
Meanwhile, the government has published guidance on how the £8,880m total pot of high needs funding will be allocated in 2022/23. Launching a consultation on changes to the funding formula in February it said that it is are aware that many local authorities have in the past spent more on high needs than it has allocated, and wants to make sure that we are allocating high needs funding as "appropriately and fairly as possible".
Earlier this month children's minister Vicky Ford said that the government’s long-awaited review of support for children SEND may not be published for “months” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government has also confirmed another core funding boost for schools through the National Funding Formula as part of £14.4bn funding increase, first announced in 2019.
This will mean a £4.8bn increase to school funding in the next academic year, and £7.1bn in 2022/23. This is in addition to the three major interventions we have made to support education recovery in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – more than £3bn in total.
From 2022/23, secondary schools across England will get an average of £6,150 per pupil, an average increase of £160. Primary schools will get an average of £4,800 per pupil, an average increase of £120. Funding for small and remote schools is also being boosted by £53m in 2022/23.