Government asked for clarity over SEND funding

Oxfordshire County Council is asking for urgent clarity over the long-term funding plan for special educational needs and disabilities

A council will write to the government demanding urgent clarity over its long-term plan for funding provision for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

A motion, put forward by the Lib Dem councillor Jane Hanna, was passed on Tuesday by Oxfordshire County Council.

The deficit for Oxfordshire's high needs block is estimated to be £21.3m for the year 2023 to 2024, while across England the deficit totals £3.16bn.

Ms Hanna said local authorities were "facing bankruptcy by March 2026".

Funding for SEND pupils is provided to local councils through the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) from the central government.

The chancellor announced in last week's budget that an additional £1bn funding would be given to the education system for SEND children.

Rebecca's son Marcus has autism and she said when it came to specialist schools there was a “black hole” in Oxfordshire.

“My son has had an ECHP (Education and Health Care Plan) since 2014, and we’re still having difficulty trying to get into a school," she said.

“We’ve already been rejected from seven schools and educational settings and we’ve been going around a 70 mile perimeter away from our house."

She said she was willing to drive her son two hours to an appropriate school, but still struggled to find a school place for her child.

Sharon said she had been left with no choice but to homeschool her son Charlie

Sharon told BBC Radio Oxford that finding a school place for her son Charlie, who has special educational needs, led to her having a nervous breakdown.

She said she left her job as a care assistant, which she “loved”, to homeschool Charlie for five years.

“We were just forgotten about. I was ringing, I was begging them (the council) on the phone for help and that help never came," she said.

"It was dreadful, the longest five years of my life.”

Ms Hanna said the council had made "progress" on communication issues with the families of SEND children.

She said the current system “is not working for the authorities” as well as the parents.

“The finances in Oxfordshire are very well managed but this is massive financial pressure," she said.

“We welcome the £1bn uplift for SEND but it doesn’t do anything to place the local authority on a sustainable footing."

She warned that a quarter of local authorities would be insolvent within one year, and another quarter within three years, if the system did not change.

Councillor Kate Gregory, cabinet member for SEND Improvement, said:

“Since the Ofsted inspection in 2023, we have committed an additional £1 million to support SEND services in Oxfordshire. There will also be an additional 300 special places available by 2028 as new schools are completed."