Mainstream schools to receive extra funding to support SEND children

Mainstream schools will receive direct funding to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) as part of a £4 billion package to make the system more inclusive.

Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major Government overhaul to be announced on Monday.

Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an "inclusive mainstream fund".

Another £1.8 billion over the same period will go towards creating an "experts at hand" service, made up of specialists such as Send teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.

Schools will be able to draw from this bank on demand regardless of whether pupils have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) - legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to - the Department for Education (DfE) said.

Some unions broadly welcomed the commitment to reform but NASUWT warned the funding was "barely a drop in the bucket" of what was necessary, while others said they would be scrutinising the details to see whether more was needed.

A further £200 million will be invested in Send outreach teams for communities, and another £200 million for local authorities to "transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services", the DfE said.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised "tailored support" for families and an end to the "one size fits all system".

"I've heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need," he said.

"But getting the right support should never be a battle - it should be a given."

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Government was "fiercely ambitious for children and young people with Send", who deserve a system that "lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on to achieve".

She said: "These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this Government's mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child."

But NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said the idea that Send provision could be adequately overhauled with "this low level of funding" was "ridiculous".

"While increased early support for Send is welcome, years of underfunding and diminished external services mean that this new funding is barely a drop in the bucket of the investment necessary to drive real improvement in schools," he said.

"£1.6 billion over three years may sound like a lot of money, but it equates to just a few thousand pounds per setting."

Children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the wider schools white paper was an "important first step" and that the Government was "listening".

"I will be closely scrutinising the detail of these proposals and making sure children's voices are heard during the consultation process," she said.

Public service union Unison said the broad themes on the Government's plans were encouraging but the money "has to go where it's needed" and "exactly how that will happen under these new plans is not clear".

The National Association of Headteachers welcomed the "principle" of more support for pupils in mainstream schools and said "along with this significant investment, we will be scrutinising the details closely and speaking to school leaders to weigh up whether it is sufficient".

"There will always be some pupils whose needs are so great that they require support in a special school, and it's crucial the Government's plans ensure all children get the support they need at the right time in the right setting," Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the union, said.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: "The move to make mainstream schools more inclusive is welcome news.

"Families must have their children's needs identified early and for them to be given the right help straight away, backed by services fully funded to do the job, and rights underpinned by law."

Sir Tony Blair's think tank said the investment laid the "groundwork" for a "full transformation of the system" that should include the use of real-time digital records.

"With the relief to the system this investment provides, Government has an opportunity to create a secure, shared, real-time digital record," Alexander Iosad, a director at the Tony Blair Institute, said.

Data should be used to deliver value for money and this "can and should be done quickly to give real relief to thousands of families struggling," he added.

The Tories also said the announcement lacked clarity, and that families should be given "cast-iron guarantees" that no child with an EHCP would lose support that parents have fought for.

"Despite today's announcement, it remains unclear whether this is new money, and months on how the £6 billion Send black hole will be filled," shadow education secretary Laura Trott said.

"This is not money you can find down the back of the sofa."

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Ms Phillipson said "effective" support for children with Send would continue and that the Government would be "spending more money," not less, on helping them following its overhaul.

The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said "no plan will be perfect" but that reforms to the system should not become the next "political flashpoint" in Westminster.

"The costs of delay are already being felt," associate director Avnee Morjaria said.

"This must now be a moment for everyone to get behind a serious programme of reform."