Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Academies

£740m earmarked to create SEND places in mainstream

The government has earmarked £740 million of capital funding to create more specialist SEND places in mainstream schools.

Ministers have also announced they will not enter into any new “safety valve” agreements with councils struggling with big high needs deficits, warning the scheme “has not been effective enough across the board given the scale of the challenge”.

The capital cash, which forms part of the £6.7 billion in capital funding for 2025-26 allocated in October’s budget, “can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND”.

It can also be used to create “specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs”, the Department for Education said.

The last government allocated over £2.6 billion over four years to create more specialist places in both special and mainstream schools.

It is not clear whether any of the £740 million will be spent on special schools, or if a separate chunk of the £6.7 billion will be allocated for them.

It comes as councils and academy trusts wait to find out if promised new free schools will go ahead.

Although special free schools are not officially under review like 44 mainstream projects, councils have reported being told their new builds have been “called in”, and ministers have said they will be subject to “value for money” checks.

‘The current picture is stark’

The DfE said the funding “will start to pave the way for the government’s wide-ranging long-term plans for reform to help more pupils with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream schools”.

Bridget Phillipson

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The current picture is stark. For too long, too many children with additional needs haven’t been getting support early enough, with dire consequences when issues escalate.

“But my commitment to reform – making tangible change to the SEND system to improve experiences for children and families – could not be clearer, and building a system where more children with SEND can attend mainstream schools is central to our plans.”

Allocations will be confirmed in the spring, the DfE said, “alongside the publication of guidance outlining how councils can use this investment to improve local mainstream provision”. 

No more safety valve deals

The government also announced today it won’t sign any more safety valve deals with struggling councils, “pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control”. 

Under the scheme, 38 councils with the biggest deficits in their spending on pupils with special educational needs have been promised bailouts totalling more than £1 billion.

But Schools Week revealed earlier this year that more than a third of councils with safety valve deals faced bankruptcy.

The DfE said today that the programme “has not been effective enough across the board given the scale of the challenge”.

“We will continue to work with local authorities with safety valve agreements to deliver their plans.”

Chair of neurodivergence group appointed

The DfE has also announced that Professor Karen Guldberg has been appointed as chair of a new “neurodivergence task and finish group”. It will work alongside the department to drive inclusive education.

Guldberg “brings a wealth of experience from her background as the Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research and Head of the School of Education at the University of Birmingham”.

She said she was “honoured to be leading a group of experts who are all committed to supporting the development of a more inclusive education system”.

“We are wholeheartedly committed to co-production with those with lived experience and we will be consulting widely.

“Our focus will be to advise and make recommendations regarding the best ways to support and meet the educational needs of neurodivergent children and young people in mainstream settings.”

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Academies

An influential committee of MPs has urged ministers not to defund courses that rival T-levels, like BTECs, days before the government is expected to...

Academies

The rate of funding paid to schools for universal infant free school meals has increased by 5p, but remains far below the estimated actual...

Academies

The number of children “missing” from education could be closer to 300,000, researchers have warned, with almost one in 10 pupils leaving the education...

Academies

Attracting an extra 6,500 teachers through wage rises alone would cost the government more than £7 billion a year, according to the National Foundation...