Suffolk schools to see £1.6m extra for SEND children but council financial gap to widen
The increase is set to cost the county council £1.64 million
Suffolk schools will receive an extra £1.6 million for SEND children despite a widening gap in the council’s finances.
During yesterday's Schools Forum meeting, a statutory body made up of headteachers, governors, and other representatives, it was decided Suffolk schools would receive a three per cent increase in their High Needs Top-Up bands, the first time since 2018 when they were introduced.
This refers to the money schools or colleges require over and above their core funding to enable a pupil or student with special needs to be educated.
Cllr Andrew Reid, who is responsible for SEND services at the county council, said: “The situation around SEND funding is a national issue and a concern for many local authorities.
“The unanimous support of the county’s Schools Forum in agreeing funding proposals was welcome.”
The top-up system is separated into bands spanning from C to H which increase depending on the student’s needs — meaning schools will now be given £1,550 for a Band C pupil and £13,400 for Band H.
The increase is set to cost the county council £1.64 million alongside an extra £626,000 also approved for Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) schools.
Although welcomed by members of the School’s Forum, several concerns were shared over the extra money’s impact on council finances.
"This is not enough"
Gemma Morgan, head of SEND funding and provider services at the county council, said: “I appreciate this is a long time coming and I also appreciate that this is not enough.”
“The money doesn’t come from anywhere, it’s added to our overspend — the decision is if we give any more money for top-up funding, it’s overspend, there’s no money.”
In large part due to a constant increase in demand, the county council is now anticipating to overspend £48.4 million on its High Needs Block (HNB) budget.
The HNB is a proportion of the Government’s Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) which supports the delivery of SEND services for nearly 9,000 students under the age of 25 — the total council overspending on its DSG funding is now £103.9 million.
The main reason behind the widening gap in the council’s education spending is effectively due to the council being prudent about its spending in the past.
In 2017, when the National Funding Formula (NFF) for schools and high needs came into effect, the council kept its spending close to its allocated budget, making the value it operated the funding baseline for the years that followed.
This meant the council would be allocated less funding than some of its neighbours such as Norfolk and Essex.
Cllr Reid added: “Suffolk County Council is a financially well-run and prudent council, managing finite SEND resources allocated nationally, as effectively as possible.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and adapt our plans as needed. ”
"It’s so low as to be meaningless”
On the other hand, Steven Wright, who is part of the Campaign for Change (Suffolk SEND) group, argued the extra money was far from enough given rising prices and demand.
He said: “A three per cent increase in something that hasn’t changed since 2018 is negligible, it’s so low as to be meaningless.”
He suggested the council should increase its deficit over the short term, making sure early help is widely available, in order to save in the long run as needs become more specialised.
Mr Wright: “Children are finding themselves struggling in schools, getting excluded, and then needing expensive specialist provision.”