The scale of stealth SEND funding cuts that hit specialist and inclusive schools the hardest can be revealed today.
The Department for Education said that by April, the high-needs funding given to councils to support pupils with special needs will have increased by 60 per cent – to £10.5 billion – in five years. In 2023–24 the funding rose by £970 million alone.
The cash goes to councils, which then distribute the funding to “top-up” funding for pupils with additional needs where extra support is required.
However, research by Special Needs Jungle shows that the top-up funding levels for schools to deliver provision for children with education, health and care plans (ECHPs) has remained stagnant in a third of councils between 2018 and last year.
