The Isle of Wight is set to receive almost £14.5million through the Government’s new High Needs Stability Grant, providing a major boost to local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services and helping to secure the long-term financial sustainability of support for children and young people with additional needs.
The funding forms part of a new national approach to addressing the growing financial pressures facing local authorities as demand for SEND provision continues to rise. Under the scheme, councils will have 90% of their accumulated High Needs deficits, up to and including 2025/26, written off, giving local authorities much-needed certainty and allowing them to focus resources on improving services rather than managing historic debts.
For the Isle of Wight, the allocation of almost £14.5 million represents a significant opportunity to strengthen support for families, schools and young people while helping to stabilise the local SEND system for the future.
The announcement comes following sustained calls from parents, schools, local authorities and campaigners across the country for a long-term solution to the funding challenges facing SEND provision.
In recent years, rising demand and increasing complexity of need have placed unprecedented pressure on councils, creating deficits that many warned were unsustainable.
Richard Quigley MP welcomed the announcement and the allocation:
“I was really pleased to see the Isle of Wight receive this funding, which recognises the significant pressures our SEND system has been operating under for a number of years. During the SEND roundtables I held with parents last spring, I repeatedly heard concerns about how stretched the system had become and the impact this was having on children and families.
“While this funding will not solve every challenge overnight, it provides much-needed stability and I know many parents, schools and professionals will feel a real sense of relief at this announcement.”
Article continues below this advertisement
Ashley Whittaker, Strategic Director of Children’s Services at the Isle of Wight Council, said:
“We welcome the government’s approval of our Local SEND Reform Plan and the resultant funding through the High Needs Stability Grant. I am grateful to everyone who contributed to its development, particularly the Isle of Wight SEND Parent Carer Forum, whose insight and challenge helped shape our approach. The plan reflects months of collaborative work involving colleagues across education, health and social care, and its approval is vindication of the direction of travel we have set out for the Island.
“Strengths identified in the Plan by the Department for Education included our commitment to early intervention, mainstream inclusion, workforce development and investment in specialist provision. Approval of the plan is an important step, but the focus is now on delivery.
“By continuing to work together with families, schools, settings, health partners and the wider community, we can ensure these reforms lead to better outcomes for children and young people with SEND.”
