Council to lobby for special educational needs funds

Hartlepool Borough Council was told funding had not increased since 2012

Council chiefs have pledged to lobby the government over funding for pupils with special educational needs.

Hartlepool Borough Council has been advised by a headteacher that funding "hasn't changed since 2012".

A meeting of its children's services committee heard that funding for primary and secondary school children had increased 5% in the last year.

The Department for Education said additional funding was available but councils were responsible for making sure children received appropriate education.

Zoe Westley, headteacher at Springwell School, said that for the 2024-25 school year the “units” of funding provided by government was £5,382 per primary school pupil and £6,926 for secondary students.

However, she said for special educational needs schools and alternative provision, that figure was £10,000 per child and “hadn't changed since 2012”.

She said: "Top up funding is costing the local authority an awful lot more than it should be, because it’s making up for the fact that £10,000 per child has never been increased.

"It’s about lobbying in terms of the Department for Education and making people aware.”

Sally Robinson, council executive director of children’s and commissioning services, said it was a “really important point” and helped explain the “substantial pressure” on the council's funding.

Labour councillor Brenda Harrison said lobbying by writing “on behalf of our special schools in the town” would show “how concerned we are that the money hasn’t gone up”.

'Councils are responsible'

A Department for Education spokesperson said that the £10,000 per child figure represented the core funding but many schools were eligible for per-pupil top-up funding.

They said: "We want all children to have the chance to meet their potential, and councils are responsible for making sure there is appropriate education for all children in their area.

“Our published SEND and AP improvement plan outlines how we are improving support across the country, with earlier intervention, consistent high standards and less bureaucracy.

“High needs funding for children and young people with complex needs will be increasing to a total of over £10.5bn in 2024-25 – an increase of over 60% since 2019-20.

"We are also investing £2.6bn in high needs capital over this Spending Review and doubling the number of special free school places to 19,000 once those in the pipeline are complete.”