National safety net for SEND funding needed
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
There are few more emotive issues than school funding. The government was reminded of this earlier in the year when, in the run-up to the general election, it was forced to backtrack on plans for a national funding formula over concerns the changes would see many schools lose money. To address this, the government pledged in the summer an extra £1.3bn from existing Department for Education coffers to plug the hole in the schools budget. It means that under the revised national formula, published in September (News, p4), every school will now receive a per-pupil funding rise. Few would argue that the formula needed changing, but questions remain about whether its replacement will solve the current crisis.
There are few more emotive issues than school funding. The government was reminded of this earlier in the year when, in the run-up to the general election, it was forced to backtrack on plans for a national funding formula over concerns the changes would see many schools lose money. To address this, the government pledged in the summer an extra £1.3bn from existing Department for Education coffers to plug the hole in the schools budget. It means that under the revised national formula, published in September, every school will now receive a per-pupil funding rise. Few would argue that the formula needed changing, but questions remain about whether its replacement will solve the current crisis.
One area badly affected by the turmoil in school funding is provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is despite the government investing more than £200m in implementing the 2014 SEND reforms, which raised expectations on the level of education support. SEND campaigners and education experts say that some schools, particularly secondaries, do not have the funds to meet pupils' additional support needs. Faced with inadequate mainstream support, more children are attending special schools as parents hope these can better meet their needs (see Analysis). This shift is borne out in the latest DfE statistics. Special schools are often the right place for children with the most complex needs, but the vast majority in need of SEND support will remain in mainstream education. They need to be better served by schools and the key to that is ensuring funding matches their needs.
The national funding formula also includes a "high-needs" element, which incorporates a range of measures to calculate how much schools receive to support additional needs pupils. Unfortunately, experts remain unconvinced that the new formula will be any better at accurately predicting schools' funding needs than the current one.
With the number of pupils diagnosed with SEND rising nationally, the government must recognise that sometimes individual schools, many with the most inclusive approach to supporting pupils with additional needs, will need extra financial support beyond what is available through the funding formula. A central fund would help respond to unexpected surges in demand that the formula fails to pick up. It would also ensure the government's ambition that the education needs of all children with SEND are fully met.