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Schools could be given more upfront funding to educate pupils with special educational needs - but the threshold for being able to seek top-up funding would also be raised, under plans announced by the Department for Education.

Currently, schools operate under a system whereby they are expected to find the first £6,000 of the cost of provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities from their existing core budget before seeking additional funding.

This £6,000 cap has been in place for more than 10 years and is referred to as a school’s notional SEND budget.

This has not kept pace with inflation and there are concerns that it can lead to schools seeking education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for pupils to unlock more funding where a child’s needs cannot be met within this £6,000.

SEND funding plan ‘would deliver earlier support’

Now the government is proposing to give councils the power to give more high-needs funding directly to schools, but also to increase the amount schools are expected to spend before being able to seek additional funding.

The DfE said this could ensure earlier support for pupils, which would “mean children’s needs don’t escalate as much”. It added that it could also “reduce the number of bids to councils for further funding”.

Ministers are seeking to reform the SEND system amid spiralling council deficits. The government has agreed to clear 90 per cent of these deficits - projected to cost more than £5 billion - if councils have separate SEND reform plans approved.

In its latest proposal, the government has said that from the 2027-28 financial year, councils will be able to apply to fund an increase in the amount of SEND support costs that mainstream schools are expected to meet before applying for additional “top-up” funding.

This would mean increasing the existing £6,000 threshold. The consultation does not include proposed amounts but asks for views on this.

The DfE said the total additional funding given to schools across a local authority area would be used to compensate schools for the change in the threshold value.

It said that most of this money would be transferred from the local authority’s high-needs budget to the schools budget, then distributed to schools through a locally determined funding formula. Councils would apply to do this in autumn 2026.

‘Mountainous’ council deficits

Currently, councils’ high-needs funding is used to provide top-up funding for pupils with SEND and to fund specialist places in an area.

Rising demand for SEND provision has led to councils transferring money out of the core schools funding block into the high-needs block to meet increasing costs.

A 91���� investigation earlier this year found that schools in more than one in three areas of the country will face cuts to their core funding next year, as local authorities grapple with “mountainous” deficits in special educational needs spending.

The DfE is now attempting to rebalance this situation by putting in more money, with the expectation that SEND needs are met in mainstream schools through their core budget.

The government’s ongoing SEND reforms place an increased emphasis on inclusion in mainstream schools.

on the latest plans opens today and will run until 18 September.

Monitoring non-school education

The DfE is also running a 10-week on how education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) is identified, run and checked.

The government has said it wants to strengthen provision for:

• Children with EOTAS arrangements.
• Those not attending school and receiving alternative provision because of health reasons.
• Those receiving alternative provision through accredited online education providers.