Bucks Council faces £10m deficit in ‘high needs’ SEND funding, leader says

Councillor Martin Tett said he expected an ‘in-year deficit’ nearly £10 million for the funding, which supports pupils and students with SEND who require additional resources in their education and learning.

The Conservative council leader quoted the figure during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday he noted that the deficit was originally projected to be £6.8 million for 2024/25.

He told the meeting: “This is a serious issue, not just here but nationally, and it is something again that I would flag to the national government.

“They need to really address this issue nationally and provide the resources or alternatively look at what responsibilities they want councils to discharge, because this is just unsustainable quite frankly.”

High needs funding has been provided to local authorities through something called the ‘high needs block of the dedicated schools grant’ to assist young people with SEND from their early years to age 25 in schools and colleges.

Councillor Tett was previously asked about the high needs funding during a meeting of the full council last month.

Labour Councillor Robin Stuchbury said he had been told that the funding had been removed or cut and asked the council leader if this was so or if it was ‘just a rumour’.

Councillor Tett replied: “To my knowledge there has been no change to the high needs funding block. I will look into it, but to my knowledge there has been no change.”

However, a Bucks teacher who is a special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCO), said she had been told that funding had been ‘cut across the board’.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Early years settings can’t cope without the funding. Children are going to lose their special needs places at schools.

“I know of people that haven’t been able to take up their college places because there is no support now.”

The teacher explained that the funding supports children with special needs but who did not necessarily have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in place.

She added: “It is all the lower-level SEND children, children at college. It just means that the schools, colleges and nurseries are going to be even more stretched.”

A new report published by the council this week said that its high needs deficit was caused by the increased demand for SEND support and a smaller increase in funding.

The number of children and young people requiring SEN support in Buckinghamshire is below the national average, although it continues to rise and was up to 11.4 per cent in the 2023/24 the academic year.