Jan 23, 2025, WY Times: Headteachers resist bid to move £5.4m [$6.7M] to support pupils with SEND
SE England
Headteachers have resisted a move to top-slice £5.4m from Hertfordshire's schools budget, as part of a package of measures to boost funding for children with special educational needs.
As part of the 2025/26 budget plans around £1.5bn is set to be allocated to the county’s schools, with £207m [$257M] ‘high needs’ funding earmarked for children with special needs.
But with fears that that £207m [$257M] may not be enough, plans have been drawn-up for schools to run-up a £50m [$62M] deficit.
That deficit, according to the plans, would be funded by county council borrowing.
In tandem there are proposals for £5.4m – equivalent to 0.5 per cent overall – to be top-sliced from the more general schools budget, to help with those borrowing costs.
At a meeting of the Hertfordshire Schools Forum (HSF) on Wednesday (January 15), the LDRS understands that headteachers agreed to the deficit.
But they did not agree to using £5.4m [$6.7M] of more general schools block funding to assist with managing the costs of running such a deficit.
Council officials are now expected to meet with the chair of the HSF to see if an agreement can be reached.
If not, the LDRS understands that there may be moves to reduce the planned increase in allocation to ‘high needs’.
Alternatively the council could apply to the Department for Education to agree the proposed top-slice – effectively over-ruling the decision by the HSF.
“The budget proposals set before School Forum last week included an overall budget for schools of approximately £1.5bn,” said a spokesperson for the county council.
“Due to the low High Needs funding we receive from central government and to maintain and protect services in Hertfordshire the budget also contained plans for a £50m deficit in relation to high needs spending.
“Whilst Schools Forum backed the broader financial strategy for supporting children with high needs including the £50m [$62M] deficit, they did not agree with one section that would have seen 0.5 per cent of schools’ budgets being top sliced to assist with managing the costs of running such a deficit.
“We are looking at the impact of this decision and will continue to work constructively alongside our schools to ensure that children with SEND get the support they need.”
The ‘high needs’ budget is largely used to support children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in mainstream or special schools.
It also funds early intervention support, education support centres and hospital education.
Hertfordshire has already lobbied government for an increase in ‘high needs’ funding – with the county’s allocation reported to be the fourth lowest, per pupil, in the country.
Officials say a “continuing and rapid” increase in the number of pupils with EHCPs and increasing costs are now making it “increasingly challenging” to control costs.
According to the council’s draft budget proposals – known as the Integrated Plan – by the end of 2025/26 the proposed £50m deficit would lead to an accumulated schools deficit of around £80m [$99M] – incurring interest costs of £2.585m [$3.2M] during 2025/26.
That could increase to £384m [$476M] by March 2029 – which would incur interest costs of around £16m [$20M] a year.
The borrowing was also referenced at last week’s meeting of the council’s cabinet – where county council’s draft budget was formally presented for the first time.
Cllr Roberts said it was now “a struggle” to meet the needs of the growing number of children requiring special educational needs support.
Pointing to potential borrowing costs, he said that it was providing an “existential threat” to all local government, not just Hertfordshire.
He said reform and/or sustainable funding within the high needs block and within special educational needs was going to be “essential”.
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