High Needs Funding Comment
Ian Thomas, Chair of the ADCS Resources & Sustainability Policy Committee, said:
“There has been a significant increase in the number of children who are accessing support via the high needs budget. This is, in part, due to the extension of support to young people with SEND up to the age of 25. The needs of children and young people with additional support requirements are becoming more complex. A recent survey of our members on high needs funding found that in many local authorities the funding allocated by the Department for Education was insufficient to meet local needs. Only a small number of respondents reported that their actual spend was within budget, with the majority reporting an overspend. Local authorities employed a range of measures to address this overspend including using reserves, transferring funding from other blocks and carrying forward deficits into the current financial year. The relationship between the different funding blocks is absolutely critical; it is concerning for our members that the national funding formula will restrict the transfer of funding between blocks reducing our ability to effectively meet the educational needs of these children and young people.”
ENDS
Related Articles
ADCS response to the consultation on eligibility for free school meals and the...
In General Funding
Comment on MHCLG statistics on local authority planned spend on services
In General Funding
Commenting on the 2020 Spending Review, Jenny Coles said… ENDS
In General Funding
Commenting on the NAO report ‘Financial sustainability of schools in...
In General Funding
Mainstream school transport: Case Study Cambridgeshire
In General Funding
Comment on Children’s Commissioner report on total public spending on...
In General Funding
ADCS and LGA response to Home Office UASC Funding Review
In General Funding
Comment on provisional local authority outturn data 2017/18
In General Funding
ADCS response to the stage 2 consultation on the schools national funding...
In General Funding
In December, the government published its provisional local government finance...
In General Funding
Comment on the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of expected cuts to...