Funding for high needs pupils is facing overspend
FUNDING for high needs school students in Northumberland is facing a £4m overspend with savings desperately needed.
Northumberland County Council officers and members of the local authority’s schools forum are set to visit schools up and down the county to discuss ideas to cut costs as reserve funding runs out next month.
While the situation is new for Northumberland, education bosses pointed out that other local authorities had already reached this point in previous years.
Mainstream schools in the county have already agreed to transfer 0.5% of the total funding for schools to the highneeds block, but the council is still facing a shortfall as the number of children with additional needs continues to rise.
Speaking at this month’s meeting of the Schools Forum, education and skills business manager Bruce Parvin said: “High needs reserve funding will be exhausted and we are going to go overdrawn on that by the end of March 2024.
“Essentially, when we have looked at the current demands on the high needs block we have identified a savings requirement of £4 million. It’s a significant savings requirement – the stark problem is there is just not enough at the moment.”
Data from Northumberland County Council showed that the number of children requiring an education and healthcare plan (EHCP) rose from 1,679 in 2017 to 3,369 in 2023 – an increase of 100.6% in just six years.
The issue is reflected nationally, with a 97% increase in the number of children and young people with an EHCP since 2015.
Director of education, SEND and skills at the county council David Street said: “Seeing the high needs block come to the end of its capacity is not a shock but it is relatively new to us.
“Other local authorities have well overstepped their spending three or four years ago and continue to run in deficits.
“There has been some fantastic efficiencies right across the board to make the funding we have got go even further.
“We’re doing more than ever before but we have just got to a point where the demand is pushing beyond the current capacity.”
Mr Street praised other schools for their response to the consultation on the transfer of 0.5% of the schools funding.
He said: “Schools have recognised the position and are saying we would be happy to have less so the size of the cake is a little bit greater for those children with high needs.
“Many of the responses were offering to have less money to benefit the greater good and that should be commended.
“None of the schools in Northumberland have lots of spare cash, but they were still happy to commit to some of the funding that they would have got.”
The council’s head of school organisation and resources, Sue Aviston, explained how the problem would be tackled.
She said: “A further, more detailed report will come back in the summer following more detailed consultation with all schools in Northumberland.
“This is around making sure all schools are aware of the pressures we’re going to be facing in the future.
“We will take the information from the initial consultation to develop a wider consultation in terms of looking at options and ideas.
“We’re going to ask schools forum members to join officers out on the road setting up interactive workshops with schools to fully explain the options and ideas around delivering a more balanced high needs block.”
We’re doing more than ever before but we have got to a point where the demand is pushing beyond capacity David Street