“Understanding Changes in funding for pupils and students with high needs”

1. “Understanding Changes in funding for pupils and students with high needs” Workshop for ‘Learning for Living and Work’ Summer Conference 19th June 2013

2. 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)

3. 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

4. Key elements in the new system • 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)

5. Model for high needs funding Pre-16 SEN and AP Post-16 SEN and LDD Mainstream settings Specialist settings All settings Mainstream per-student funding (as calculated by the national 16-19 funding system) Mainstream per-pupil funding (AWPU) 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. Element 1: Core education funding PLACE LED Element 2: Additional support funding Contribution of £6,000 to additional support required by a pupil with high needs, from the notional SEN budget 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 Element 3: Top-up funding PUPIL LED This diagram appeared as Figure 1 (p.43) of School funding reform: Next steps towards a fairer system.

6. 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

7. High needs block(11 permitted elements) • Delegated budgets of special schools • Centrally funded provision for individual pupils • SEN support services • Support for inclusion • Independent special school fees • Inter-authority recoupment (historical) • Pupil referral units • Education out of school • Delegated allocations relating to individual pupils • Delegated allocations relating to special units • Post-16 SEN expenditure

8. 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)

9. Herts specialist provision • LA commissions number of places (August ‘12 for 2013-14 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

10. Herts ESCs • ESCs receive £8k for each place (mostly 40 places) • Range of services provided by an ESC, including short-term 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

11. 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

12. 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?