Special education needs funding in schools
Funding for schools for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
In April 2013 the government made changes to the way that funding is provided to schools. The funding changes do not change the legal responsibilities of schools and local authorities for children with special educational needs (SEN).
Under the requirements of the Children Act 2014, governing bodies of maintained schools and academy trusts are required to use delegated and earmarked funding to make best endeavours to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs.
Funding streams are different depending upon whether the school is a mainstream primary school, secondary school, academy or a specialist setting such as a special school or special support centre (SSC) and whether the pupil or student is pre or post 16.
This document sets out the funding arrangements for pupils and students with high needs in each type of setting in West Sussex.
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Schools and academies are funded for a financial year according to a formula using factors set in national regulations and are allocated a ‘School Budget Share’. A statement informing schools of their funding for the new financial year is published each year.
Funding is allocated to mainstream schools and academies under three main headings:
The basic entitlement per pupil (sometimes referred to as the Age Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU) and Element 1)
Schools get most of their funding based on the total number of pupils in the school. Every pupil in a school attracts an amount of money. The amount varies from one authority to another.
There is usually more funding for each pupil in a secondary school than in a primary school. This is the core budget for each school and it is used to make general provision for all pupils in the school including pupils with SEN.
Additional Support Funding - The school’s notional SEN budget (sometimes referred to as Element 2)
Within the 'School Budget Share' there is a ‘notional’ sum for SEN. It is called the 'notional' SEN budget because governors of schools are legally responsible for deciding how the budget share is to be spent in the best interests of all the children of the school.
When funding is delegated to schools, they can spend it in the way they think is best. However, schools have a duty to identify, assess and make special educational provision for all children with SEN, and the local authority has a duty to set out what schools are expected to provide from their delegated budget.
A school should use its notional SEN budget to fund up to £6,000 worth of special educational provision for a pupil with SEN (on top of the basic entitlement (AWPU) sum). This is an average figure, as not all pupils with SEN require special educational provision up to the amount of £6,000. It will depend on the individual needs of each pupil with SEN.
Additional SEN Support
Apart from the basic entitlement per pupil and a lump sum, mainstream school funding is based on formula factors that differentiate funding on the basis of pupil data such as prior attainment at the end of a curriculum Key Stage and deprivation data. This funding forms part of the notional SEN budget.
If schools develop best practice in inclusion of pupils with high needs, there may be some circumstances when they do not have sufficient notional SEN funding to meet the £6,000 element 2.
WSCC have a process for identifying where there are a disproportionate number of pupils with SEND in schools and, if appropriate, an additional allocation of funding is made to schools through that mechanism which is carried out a couple of times a year. That process is not linked to individual pupils.
West Sussex will allocate Additional SEN Support funding to eligible schools of £6,000 pro rata for the number of high needs pupils in receipt of an IAR above 3 per cent of the pupil roll.
Top-up funding (sometimes referred to as an Individually Assigned Resource (IAR) or Element 3
In addition to funding delegated to schools for elements 1 and 2 described above, if the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or a statement of special educational needs and the local authority determines that a child needs additional support to meet specified high needs, it can then provide IAR funding (element 3) towards the extra cost of that provision. The IAR (element 3) is funded by the local authority in which the pupil lives.
Element 3 is provided by the local authority for an individual pupil who has a high level of needs and schools are expected to use this funding to make provision for that individual pupil.
An individually assigned resource is allocated by the local authority to enable the school to make appropriate educational provision to meet the educational outcomes in the Statement or Educational Health and Care Plan. Again, governors of schools are legally responsible for deciding how the funds they receive are best used to meet the child’s educational outcomes.
For the very small number of children in mainstream education who have exceptional needs requiring more support above elements 1 and 2 and an IAR, a case can be presented by a school to the local authority SEN Panel to obtain a personal supplement, the amount of which will vary according to the assessed need.
The funding a mainstream school or academy receives as an IAR/personal supplement (element 3) will vary through the year as this money 'follows' the child.
If a child with an EHCP joins the school part-way through a year, an IAR, and exceptionally a personal supplement, will be allocated to the school on a pro-rata basis, calculated according to the number of school days left in the financial year.
Equally, if a child leaves, a proportion of the IAR/personal supplement originally allocated will be removed from the budget, again on a pro-rata basis.
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Special schools and SSCs are funded based on an agreed number of planned places (base funding) plus top up funding for each occupied place.
SSCs provide specialist support for a specific type of high need, for example, sensory, physical disability. SSC provision is integral to a limited number of mainstream schools and academies.
Statements/EHCPs will name the SSC as appropriate provision to meet the pupil’s needs. The core curriculum is provided through the school and pupils are fully integrated within normal classes in as far as their need allows. SSCs are funded to provide the specific specialist support to individual pupils as identified in statements/EHCPs.
Base funding (elements 1 and 2)
Planned places are agreed each year between the establishment and the local authority taking into account the current places and estimated place numbers required in the following September.
Special schools are provided with base funding of £10,000 for each agreed planned place commissioned by the local authority. Schools with SSCs are provided with per pupil funding for occupied agreed planned places in the SSC through their main school budget share.
They are also provided with base funding of £6,000 for each of those occupied agreed planned places and base funding of £10,000 for each of the unoccupied agreed planned places.
Top up funding (element 3)
Special schools and SSCs are allocated top up funding for every occupied place. The top up is funded by the local authority in which the pupil lives.
Top up funding is initially allocated according to the number of children occupying places in October. The rate of top up varies for each establishment. This is due to how budgets were calculated prior to the introduction of the government’s new arrangements in 2013-2014 and the government’s expectations that no school should be worse off under the new formula, provided the establishment was full. If a school were not full, the government stated clearly that the budget would reduce.
The funding a school and SSC receives as top up will vary through the year as this money 'follows' the child. If a child joins the school or SSC part-way through a year, a top-up will be allocated to the school on a pro-rata basis, calculated according to the number of school days left in the financial year.
Equally, if a child leaves, a proportion of the top up originally allocated will be removed from the budget, again on a pro-rata basis.
Exceptional Needs Funding (ENF) in Special Schools and SSCs
This funding is an additional top up which is used in specific circumstances for an individual pupil. ENF is currently used for:
- a short-term intervention (for example, maximum of one academic year)
- funding to cover a specific crisis
- meeting a need outside the usual cohort of children at a school
- linking to individual pupil need over and above what is expected from normal place/pupil funding
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A personal budget is an allocation of money identified to support an eligible child or young person to meet their identified needs. The money must meet the outcomes specified in the EHCP or statement.
A personal budget can be managed in a number of different ways, for example, by way of a direct payment.
Young people over 16 and parents have a choice regarding whether to request a personal budget or not. Parents or the young person must always be involved in planning the personal budget.
A personal budget (PB) may consist of funding from Education, Health and Social Care.
A personal budget for education is not the same as a personal budget for social care or health because a large amount of special educational needs funding is already paid direct to the school, college or other education setting to make special educational provision.
In the majority of cases, the SEN funding is sufficient to deliver the educational provision detailed in Part F of the EHC plan.
A small number of children or young people may be eligible for additional top up (Element 3) funding and it is this element that may be used by parents or young people to secure provision themselves.
There are statutory regulations which have been issued by the government about education personal budgets and direct payments, for example:
- a personal budget and in particular a Direct Payment cannot be made in respect of provision which will take place in a school, post 16 institution or early years setting without the written consent of the head teacher, principal or the person occupying an equivalent position
- the options for a personal budget within a specialist school may be more limited than that of a mainstream school as the provision is more integrated
- the parent, carer or young person will be responsible for ensuring the health and safety of any individual employed to deliver all or part of the agreed provision detailed in a direct payment agreement and that they are approved or certified by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
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Alternative provision is education provided for pupils who have been permanently excluded from school or whose needs cannot be met in a school.
The APC is the provider of the majority of alternative provision places in West Sussex.
Funding for the APC is similar to that of special schools in that it is provided for an agreed number of planned places plus a top up for actual pupils on roll.
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Base funding
Funding for post 16 students with high needs attending further education colleges comprises element 1 for core curriculum costs (approximately £4,000), plus £6,000 (element 2) for additional support for students with post 16 EHCPs or statements of SEN agreed by local authorities.
Elements 1 and 2 are funded by the Education Funding Agency.
Top up funding
The local authority may allocate top up funding (element 3) according to a student’s assessed needs. Top up will vary through the year as funding follows the student.
You can find details on how schools are funded for pupils with SEND on the West Sussex SENDIAS web page Funding for SEND.