Mar 13, 2025, Local Democracy Reporting Service: Growing pressure on special education needs funds
NE England
Durham County Council has warned it is struggling to cope with a rising demand for special educational needs (Send) provision.
Officials said the pressure on resources to support children and young people with Send and inclusion needs is "significant and growing".
They added previous funding allocations "fell significantly short of properly recognising the increasing levels of demand and cost increases".
The council has now joined forces with other local authorities to lobby the government for reforms to the system and extra funds. The government said it had invested £1 billion [$1.3B] more for Send next year, with another £740m [$958M] fund for councils to create specialist places in mainstream schools.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a council report stated: "This year's grant allocation for Durham will increase by £7.4m [$9.6M] (7.8%) in 2025/26.
"However, demands and rising costs will outstrip this increase and lead to an assumed budget deficit of circa £14m [$18M] next year." . . .
"The situation is unsustainable for us and other local authorities," he said.
"We need the government to take urgent action to reform the Send system and make funding available for us to meet the needs of our children and young people.
"We will need to continue to monitor the situation very carefully and find ways to mitigate some of the cost pressures we are currently facing."
A Department for Education spokesperson said the Send system "inherited" from the previous government had been "failing to meet the needs of children and families for far too long".
They added: "We are determined to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, making sure special schools cater to children with the most complex needs and restoring parents' trust that their child will get the right support."
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