A bid to put an a higher percentage of funding into special education learning has been rejected by government.
The Isle of Wight Council was looking to increase special education needs and disabilities (SEND) funding in schools by an additional 1% — or £731,400 — to fill a hole in the SEND budget.
In previous years, the council has transferred 0.5% of the mainstream schools block to the SEND budget but further pressures on the budget, an overspend and existing deficit, meant the authority were seeking to bring the transfer to 1.5%.
Island headteachers voted against the move in an extraordinary meeting of the Schools’ Forum in December and now Gavin Williamson, the secretary of state for education, has rejected the increased transfer.
The Isle of Wight Council was among 21 other local authorities across the country to have its proposed transfer refused.
There has been rising demand for SEN support on the Island and while funding given to the Island has increased in the dedicated schools grant, an Isle of Wight Council report said the transfers to help the high needs block had not been sufficient enough to meet cost pressures.
A predicted budget deficit of the 2019/20 school year in the high needs block was £2.056 million — due to more personal education budgets being needed and topped up funding for SEN support in mainstream schools.
The Isle of Wight receives one of the smallest dedicated schools grants in the country — getting £98.3 million for the next school year, 2020/21.
If the 1.5% transfer was approved, £1.1 million would have been added to the SEN budget — bringing the total to more than £17 million.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said:
“Nationally, there are pressures on the high needs block budget in almost all local authorities.
“This is due to a rising number of children with education, health and care plans (EHCP) across the country. The high needs budget provides finance to help schools meet the special education needs of children and young people.
“The percentage of children with EHCPs on the Isle of Wight is higher than the national average which makes the budgetary pressure on the Island more acute.
“The local authority has been working closely with headteachers to collectively manage the pressure on the budget, while continuing to support schools’ interventions funded from this budget.
“These measures include:
Limiting the amount of additional discretionary funding available to schools from the high needs block, as more funding is now being provided directly to schools, through the new funding formula, to help them meet all children and young people’s needs.
Working with our partners in the health service to submit a bid to access additional funding available to support children and young people with social, emotional and mental health needs and encouraging schools to collectively commission discretionary support from their budgets.
Reviewing all expenditure from this block through stringent financial controls and capping the amount of funding available to schools where there are exceptional circumstances.
“The Isle of Wight Council is confident that these measures will help to manage the budget pressures and enable the Island to continue to offer the highest quality support and provision for children and young people with special needs.“The government is also carrying out a review of special educational needs and its funding. Senior leaders from the council have pressed home the case for additional funding for the Island in this area of schools’ budgets.”
Hello. And Bye.
so, in February 2020, the department for education boosted the islands education grant by £4.8 million to £98 million. The biggest funding boost in a decade.
This was allocated as an additional £3.5 million for mainstream schools, £1.2 million for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and £129,000 for early years provision.
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In the 2019/20 A predicted budget deficit of the 2019/20 school year in the high needs block was £2.056 million. They got an extra £1.2m which covers off most of that deficit, or overspend as it is better known.
The SEN block cannot keep expecting the mainstream children to continue to be deprived of school funding just to continue to provide an ever increasing portion to be spent on the minority.
The correct decision was made – they can find savings to balance the books.
Why waste good money on such children. It will become increasing difficult for normal bright children to gain meaningful employment now. These specials, or additionals should never have be allowed into main stream education, but sent as they used to be, to one school, saving millions on having to have separate helpers and special equipment for a handful of children who almost all will never amount to much.
Before people quote the odd special that has gone on to greatness, think of all the masses that haven’t and who are just a drain on society for all time.
The parents if they feel differently should pay the full additional cost of educating these children, who, for the most part only need to learn how to sign their name to claim for the rest of their time once out of schooling.
Times are hard, and the days when having a ‘special’ meant more cash, and treated as something positive, was wrong and will be increasing hard to justify in this new impoverished Britain pro CV crisis.
Nothing personal just economically not viable now.
How ignorant are you some if all of the special children and young people have more to give to society them people like you.
If they have ‘so much’ to give, whatever that is? Then they could ‘give it’ at a special school, and all hug one another. The hippies and Beatles may have believed ‘All you need is love’ sadly the world needs workers and money to function.
These specials cost the most, yet pay back the least. So, it makes sense to spend as little as is possible on them. IF a parent thinks they are worthy of greater investment, re mortgage the house, take out a loan, and then, when the special is doing well, the cost can be re-cooped.
But they won’t, sooner the rest of society paid for their choice of insisting that the joey is placed in main stream education costing tax payers huge amounts of wasted cash, not them, and for the greater part causing massive disruption to normal students.
Sure the schools welcome them but again ONLY for the extra funding they then receive, otherwise they too would rather that most were safely in a ‘special school’.
Not being horrid, just a sad fact. You fund them if you feel they will pay you back, but you won’t as you know, they won’t other than a smile and a hug.
Fine if YOU pay for that educated hug, but not when others have to and normal students suffer disruptive ne’re do wells daily.
As more unemployment hits the UK now, those who will never in all likelihood get a job, need just the rudimentary education, which the parents for the most part could install.
I can’t believe your ignorance and to be honest I am appalled by your comments. I work in a school,I have a child who is 1 of 3 boys with ASD & ADHD-he along with several others in that ‘special’ category have a lot more intellectual capacity & a great deal more compassion than You appear to have. I look forward to what he & many other children will bring to society also believing that it will be probably more than you. I hope for your sake we don’t ever have to waste our monies given by tax etc on mis informed people like you! I think that you actually need to spend some time with these ‘special’ children & learn a little more about them and how they alongside there pears benifit society as a whole. There are many others who take from society that are very able to give but refuse – I suggest you maybe target them!
Are you saying all sen children can’t read, write or gain employment??? This post was obviously written by a moron who feels the need to blame all Sen children for taking away his chance of becoming an intelligent, well educated human being! But of course Dla will pay for my son’s education, damn it why havn’t I done this!! he could of had the equivalent of of a private education by now and I wouldn’t of had to battle mainstream all these years to actually get his needs met! Think I’m doing OK though my sen son is on his way to achieving good gcse’s and God forbid he might even go to University eek!!!
Forgot to add!!! Special education schools cost more than mainstream so would be a bigger drain on society and budgets do your homework before you open your mouth! Bring it on! more money for sen education please don’t let it become wasted on idiots like this one!!!