Ten-year plan urged for schools and colleges under high needs pressure

A report from the parliamentary education committee, A ten-year plan for school and college funding, says an increase in high needs funding for special education needs and disabilities (SEND) is urgently needed to address a projected deficit of at least £1.2bn.

Any uplift in funding should also take account of the costs of providing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for young people up to the age of 25, the committee urges.

It is calling on the government to commit to a multi-billion cash injection as part of a strategic ten-year education funding plan which would fix the "broken" funding system for schools and colleges.

A committee inquiry found that schools were increasingly being asked to cover additional services involving mental health, social issues and more complex SEND provision without adequate resources.

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This, together with growing pupil numbers and increased costs to deliver these services, means many schools are struggling to cope with demand.

Robert Halfon, the committee's chair, believes education deserves a ten-year plan and a long-term funding settlement similar to that set out for the NHS.

"Substantial amounts of money have been allocated to education by the government, but spending has not kept pace with the growing demands placed on our schools and colleges," he states.

He says the government needs to cover a projected eight per cent funding gap currently faced by schools alongside a 10-year funding plan.

"There is a crisis of confidence in the ability of mainstream schools to provide adequate SEND support," he adds.

"This needs to be tackled through increased schools funding to support better early intervention.

The report highlights research which estimates a national high needs spending deficit of between £1.2bn and £1.6bn by 2021.

Many councils, even those in a comparatively strong financial position, said it was a certainty their high needs budget would go into deficit, it states.

It claims councils have been accused of using the EHC assessment process to act as a "gatekeeper" to accessing high needs block funding and attempting to avoid granting approvals due to financial constraints.

However, the number of cases going to tribunal has been increasing with around £100m spent by councils on tribunal defence since 2014, it adds.

The report shows that the further education sector has been hardest hit with post-16 funding per student dropping by 16 per cent over the past decade.

"The social justice implications of the squeeze on further education colleges are particularly troubling, given the high proportion of disadvantaged students in these institutions," it states.

It recommends the government urgently address underfunding in further education by increasing the base rate from £4,000 to at least £4,760, a rise in line with inflation.

The full amount of estimated pupil premium money not claimed because students did not register for free school meals should be secured from the Treasury and allocated to disadvantaged children.

In addition, the pupil premium should be extended to provide for 16 to 19 year olds, the report adds.

Charity Ambitious about Autism, which gave evidence to the committee last year, said a lack of funding in the special educational needs system was "squandering the potential" of a generation of autistic children and young people.

Jolanta Lasota, the charity's chief executive, said: "There are now more than 130,000 autistic pupils in our education system but schools and local authorities are increasingly unable to meet the growing level of support these young people need to learn, thrive and achieve.

"Many pupils are being denied access to Education, Health and Care Plans while parents are facing lengthy and costly tribunal battles to get their children the support they are entitled to.

"This inability to access a full and fulfilling education has repercussions throughout young people's lives - with only 16 per cent of autistic adults in full-time employment. 

"The education select committee has rightly identified that the special educational needs system urgently needs millions of pounds worth of investment to make it fit for purpose."

The Department for Education recognised that there are "budgeting challenges", but the government was investing record amounts of funding in education and childcare.

School funding in England is at its highest level, rising from almost £41bn in 2017-18 to £43.5bn by 2019-20, it said.

The DfE said: "We have also protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds until 2020 and are providing additional funding for the delivery of the new gold standard T Levels, rising to an additional £500m every year once they are fully rolled out." 

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