“Understanding Changes in
funding for pupils and
students with high needs”
Workshop for ‘Learning for Living and
Work’ Summer Conference
19th June 2013
Purpose of workshop
• Give overview of national SEN funding changes
• Summarise how new system will operate for schools,
alternative providers and FE colleges in Herts
• Consolidate your understanding of how funding works in
your sector
• Extend your understanding of how funding works in
sectors into/from which your students progress
• Answer questions and concerns where possible (not
everything currently known, nationally or locally)
Aims of the new national system
• To operate within current statutory framework on
assessment, admissions and accountability
(SEN statutory changes from autumn 2014)
• To support structural reform of school system
(academies and free schools) and move towards
national funding formula
• To encourage greater accountability and choice for
parents
• No change to spending power or total budgets
• A new 0 – 25 system, placing with LAs the responsibility
and funding for CYP with high cost needs
• Higher incidence, lower cost needs to be met by schools
and colleges from delegated budgets
Key elements in the new system
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Consistency (equivalence) across forms of provision
Academies and maintained schools funded similarly
Improving ‘cross- LA border’ arrangements
Greater clarity about responsibilities (commissioner and
provider)
Provide better information for parents on the ‘local offer’
Funding for high needs pupils: ‘place plus’ and top-ups
Bring pre- and post- 16 high needs funding together
Alignment of school and college systems funding post-16
Three notional funding blocks: Schools, Early Years and
High Needs (not ring-fenced)
Model for high needs funding
Pre-16 SEN and AP
PLACE LED
PUPIL LED
Element 3:
Top-up
funding
Element 2:
Additional
support
funding
Element 1:
Core
education
funding
Mainstream settings
Mainstream per-pupil
funding (AWPU)
Contribution of £6,000 to
additional support required
by a pupil with high needs,
from the notional SEN
budget
Post-16 SEN and
LDD
Specialist settings
All settings
Base funding of £10,000 for
SEN and £8,000 for AP
placements, which is
roughly equivalent to the
level up to which a
mainstream provider would
have contributed to the
additional support provision
of a high needs pupil. Base
funding is provided on the
basis of planned places.
Mainstream per-student
funding (as calculated by
the national 16-19 funding
system)
Contribution of £6,000 to
additional support required
by a student with high
needs
“Top-up” funding from the commissioner to meet the needs of each pupil or student placed in
the institution
This diagram appeared as Figure 1 (p.43) of School funding reform: Next
steps towards a fairer system.
Top-up funding
• Top-up funding provided to the setting by the
commissioner based on assessed need of pupil
• Commissioner will be LA or mainstream school (in the
case of alternative provision)
• If pupil is from out of LA, commissioner will be pupil’s
home LA, paying school direct
• Top-up for pupils in mainstream school requiring
additional support more than £6k (£4.5k in Herts)
• Top-up for each special unit in mainstream where cost is
beyond £10k base funding
• Top-up only paid while pupil is on roll
High needs block
(11 permitted elements)
1. Delegated budgets of special schools
2. Centrally funded provision for individual pupils
3. SEN support services
4. Support for inclusion
5. Independent special school fees
6. Inter-authority recoupment (historical)
7. Pupil referral units
8. Education out of school
9. Delegated allocations relating to individual pupils
10. Delegated allocations relating to special units
11. Post-16 SEN expenditure
SEN funding in Herts mainstream
• Simplification of overall mainstream formula (max. 12
elements), with less flexibility for LA/ Schools Forum
• Largely same factors as now to generate notional SEN
budget funding: % AWPU, prior attainment, deprivation
• From this schools required to fund up to £4.5k for any
pupil with SEN to support additional needs
• Pupils requiring more than £4.5k additional support, as
identified by exceptional needs funding (ENF) process,
will receive top-up from high needs block
• Numbers: approx. £40m total in notional SEN funding
and £4.6m for top ups (500 pupils in 250 schools)
Herts specialist provision
• LA commissions number of places (August ‘12 for 201314 financial year)
• Mainstream specialist units receive £10k per place, plus
top up per pupil in most units (similar cost for each type)
• Special schools receive £10k per place plus average top
up amount for each pupil on roll
• Special school top up figures vary between schools
based on type, size and historical factors
• Less stability of funding for specialist provision than
previous place funding model
• Numbers: approx. £36m for 25 special schools
Herts ESCs
• ESCs receive £8k for each place (mostly 40 places)
• Range of services provided by an ESC, including shortterm placements and outreach
• Rest of the ESC’s funding is for a commissioned service
as set out in an SLA with the local authority
• Funding this year based on 2012-13 budgets plus some
new delegation (e.g. premises) to give alternative
provision a full delegated budget in line with schools
Herts FE colleges
• Previous FE funding for high cost additional learning
support (ALS, £5.5-19k) and Improving Choice (£19k+)
• Funding for top ups transferring from Education Funding
Agency (EFA) to local authorities from September 2013
• Colleges receive course costs (Element 1) for all
students and funding for deprivation and prior attainment
• Additional support of £6k per high needs student
(Element 2, based on January 2013 numbers)
• Elements 1 + 2 effectively paid direct to College by EFA
• Colleges and local authority working together to finalise
no. of high needs students and level of top up funding
Questions and discussion
• What else would you like to know about the funding
changes?
• What further explanation or information is required?
• What are the implications for funding of learners working
at level I and below?
• What impact might the new funding arrangements have
on student progression, between and within institutions?