Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset has added his support to calls for an increase to funding for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
As a long standing member of the f40 group, Drax fights for one of the worst-funded local education authorities in England. Despite f40 securing a new funding settlement for mainstream education, provision for SEND is still lagging behind.
“During a debate on January 11, we heard in detail about the crisis in provision of support for those with SEND,” says Drax. “The House resolved on that occasion that SEND provision should be reviewed.”
“I am therefore adding my name today to a letter from my colleague, Sir David Davis MP to the Chancellor, calling for £4.6 billion in additional annual funding in the budget. This is the minimum necessary to stop spiralling costs, where the cumulative deficit in local authority high needs budgets is expected to reach £3.6 billion by March 2025.”
The letter to the Chancellor states, ‘Whilst we recognise that High Needs Funding has increased substantially since 2019, there is ample evidence that what is currently being provided is failing to meet the level of need. This has been compounded by parallel challenges in children’s social care and school transport budgets which increase the pressure on councils and children and families with SEND.’
‘The level of need has increased dramatically in recent years. The total number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and statements of special educational need has more than doubled since 2015. But Government support has not kept pace.’
‘Successive spending settlements have provided funding for teachers’ pay increases but not for teaching assistants and non-teaching staff – both are roles that play a vital part in supporting inclusion for children with SEND. This is leading to unsustainable pressure on staffing budgets.’
‘In addition, the funding allocations for SEND provision are unfairly skewed, and do not reflect the relative needs of each area. A reassessment of these allocations is long overdue and, as the f40 group has long argued, a fair funding system should be about meeting the needs of pupils according to their characteristics, not where they happen to be in the country.’
Thirty MPs attended the January debate, contributing their constituents’ experiences of a system in crisis, and in some cases relating their own personal family stories.