At the start of this term FACT Bucks was informally notified by Buckinghamshire Council that it would no longer be accepting applications from schools and other educational settings for top-up funding for students with SEND but no EHC plan. FACT were not consulted or notified of this policy change before it was made and we have since taken every opportunity to challenge the decision which we believe will be harmful to children with SEND and their families.
The top-up money concerned comes from the “high needs block” provided by central government to local authorities. The high needs block also pays for places at special schools, ARPs and units, for funding for children with EHC plans in mainstream schools, for Alternative Provision and EOTAS packages, and for running the SEND service. Buckinghamshire Council overspent its High Needs Block during the last financial year and is likely to do so again during the current year.
High needs block top-up funding was traditionally used to pay for short and medium term packages of support for particular children with SEND but not EHC plans. The aim of such packages was normally to help the children concerned to catch-up with their peers so that an EHC plan would not be required, and in nearly one-third of cases it succeeds in avoiding a plan. High needs block top-up funding can also be used to make alterations to schools to make them more accessible to a range of children with SEN, e.g installing lifts or sensory rooms.
It is important to stress that the announced change will not change the legal obligation of schools to use their best endeavours to make sure that children with SEN get the support they need, including short- and long-term interventions. It is up to the school to fund these however they can. Schools are themselves, however, generally short of money.
FACT Bucks and the school leaders to whom we have spoken anticipate that the announced change will make schools suggest EHC plans to families earlier than would otherwise have been the case. This will undermine the objectives of the SEND improvement strategy which puts emphasis on early intervention to prevent escalation of need. It may also discourage schools from admitting pupils that may have low level special needs. FACT will continue to push for the funding to be reinstated as soon as possible and in the meantime for the impact of the move to be monitored and mitigated.
