Schools are setting aside cash for potential legal action, being asked to 鈥渕ake the case鈥 to secure SEND cash and signing up to inclusion charters as cash-strapped councils try to boost inclusion. The government鈥檚 key plan to fix the broken SEND system is to make mainstream schools more inclusive. Buckling under huge deficits on their high-needs funding, some councils are already attempting to get their mainstream schools to educate more pupils with complex needs. But plans in some areas have led to huge backlash from heads, with threats of legal action and fears over more cuts by the back door 鈥 providing a stark warning sign for future reforms. Schools Week investigates… Special schools 鈥榯urn away most complex鈥 kids Kent council 鈥 the country鈥檚 largest 鈥 plans a raft of changes to get its spending on pupils with additional needs under control. It was criticised by Ofsted previously for failing to tackle 鈥渁 lack of willingness鈥 among some schools to 鈥渁ccommodate鈥 children with SEND. One of the more controversial proposals is to change the admission guidance and designated needs that some special schools cater for, to ensure pupils with more severe and complex needs can access places. Kent said the current admission guidance means six schools only admit children who are achieving within the range expected for their age, a situation one leader branded as 鈥渕ad鈥. This results in some special schools 鈥渢urning away the most complex pupils and in some cases recommending a mainstream school鈥, council papers stated. In fact, some mainstream schools now have pupils with 鈥渕ore complex needs than those in special schools鈥. The papers reveal a Kent special school told a parent via an email in March that their child鈥檚 needs 鈥渁re too high鈥 for their school, but their 鈥渘eeds could be met at mainstream鈥. Christine McInnes, Kent鈥檚 director of education, told Schools Week a third of special schools now 鈥渞eflect our selective system in secondary schools鈥 as they have 鈥渧ery, very restrictive admissions criteria鈥. ‘It’s a complete outlier’ Snowfields Academy, for instance, states pupils must have an education, health and care plan with autism as their primary need. But students 鈥渟hould be working at, or close to, age expected attainment levels, within 2-3 years of age expected and on a pathway to achieve GCSE or functional skills qualifications at the end of year 11鈥. It adds students with a primary need of social, emotional and mental health or a 鈥渟ignificant global developmental delay or challenging behaviour鈥 are not appropriate for the school. McInnes added: 鈥淜ent is the only authority that I have come across that restricts the entry of children to special schools by saying, 鈥榳e will only take children who can achieve well at GCSE鈥. It鈥檚 a complete outlier.鈥 Legal action eyed over inclusion push However, the proposals have caused a huge backlash. which represents special schools in the region, has warned the scale of proposals 鈥渨ill require affected schools to make sweeping changes to their curriculum, staffing resources and capital infrastructure鈥. The heads warned there was 鈥渓ittle confidence鈥 the changes 鈥渨ill have the desired impact of better outcomes for children鈥 or address the deficit. Simon Beamish They pushed back on 鈥渞hetoric from [Kent council] officers that special schools do not wish to change and are actively resisting change鈥 This is simply not the case and is causing further friction鈥. Schools Week understands a KSENT leader said during a meeting that it was seeking legal advice on the plans, and suggested it had 拢100,000 that could be used for this purpose. Schools have to pay for membership. A KSENT spokesperson said the organisation had 鈥渁 contingency fund for unpredicted costs鈥, but said: 鈥淣o monies from the contingency fund are set aside for specific purposes. No money from the KSENT budget is ring-fenced for legal challenge. 鈥淜SENT headteachers will continue to work with Kent County Council colleagues in order to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people.” Simon Beamish, chief executive at Leigh Academies Trust which runs schools in the area, has also said if the plans were implemented, his trust would consider legal action against the council. The proposals would be 鈥渄amaging鈥 for the region鈥檚 special schools, and make it 鈥渕ore difficult to achieve a place鈥. Schools 鈥榮ticking fingers in ears鈥 Seamus Murphy But Seamus Murphy, chief executive at Turner Schools, said: 鈥淭he system is broken in Kent and there are those who are working with the local authority to deliver change and those who are sticking their fingers in their ears, shouting [King] Canute-like at the incoming tide and hopping up and down pleased that everybody else鈥檚 castles are washed away.鈥 He added inclusive mainstream schools currently 鈥渇ace a triple whammy of lower progress rates, staff burnout and risk adverse Ofsted judgements鈥. Kent said it would aim to 鈥渆ncourage鈥 academies, which are their own admission authorities, to make the changes. Kent is also creating what it calls a 鈥渃ontinuum鈥, setting out what needs schools should be able to cater for. Fears of cuts and ‘lack of clarity’ A draft document stated secondary schools were supporting children operating within six to seven years below their chronological age. Kent said the contents of the document 鈥渞eflect the range of existing practice鈥 in schools. But some academy bosses are worried the new model will mean funding cuts and a 鈥渓ack of clarity鈥 about the thresholds for which they will be able to receive additional funds to support children with complex needs. A consultation response is due this autumn. Brighton and Hove City Council is also reviewing its admissions system. They want to rebalance the proportion of pupils on free school meals across schools and have started consultation with schools. Plans include modifying schools鈥 catchment areas to ensure they are more 鈥渆quitable鈥. Councillor Jacob Taylor, the council鈥檚 deputy leader, said he would like a system 鈥渨here there is a better social mix within our schools鈥. Heads must 鈥榤ake case鈥 for cash Several councils have also moved to a 鈥渓ocality鈥 model on SEND decision making and funding. Generally, an area is split into 鈥渓ocalities鈥 or 鈥渃lusters鈥 which are made up of headteachers, SENCos and other representatives. They get allocated a chunk of high-needs funding and make decisions on what support each school receives. Usually, a council just makes decisions on which pupils receive 鈥渢op-up鈥 funding from the high-needs block, and the cash follows the individual pupil. Schools can apply for this extra cash, which is for pupils with more complex needs. However, Kent council said schools that see themselves as more inclusive are less likely to apply for top-up cash because they see pupils instead as part of the 鈥渙rdinary population鈥. 鈥淭his can reward schools financially which are less inclusive, and result in unfair allocation of limited resources,鈥 they added. 鈥淭here is a need to ensure that SEN provision is more clearly linked to agreed, moderated levels of need and that access to additional funding and support is fair.鈥 ‘Locality’ models rolled out A similar model has been rolled out in other areas, such as Croydon and Sheffield. In Sheffield, just a small percentage of its high-needs funding is given to the localities. The schools in each locality then agree together how the funding should be used. To access locality top-up funding for individual pupils, schools have to make an application to the panel. A tool called the Sheffield Support Grid is used to describe the different levels of needs and links them to packages of provision 鈥 to make sure decisions are consistent across the city. In Kent, the proposals have caused big concerns among heads about funding being slashed. Debbie Rousell, chief executive at The Island Learning Trust, added mainstream heads are also concerned about the 鈥渓evel of need they will be expected to manage and educate 鈥 without training, experience or adequate resourcing鈥. She said: 鈥淎ll three of my schools are incredibly inclusive now, I鈥檓 not sure how much more complex children we can educate, without detriment to other pupils and staff wellbeing.鈥 Funding ‘distributed in a different way’ Another boss, who wished to remain anonymous, said schools are worried they are 鈥済oing to end up out of pocket and having to make support staff redundant鈥. They claimed no financial modelling had been shared. Asked about these concerns, McInnes said there won鈥檛 be less funding 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 going to be distributed in a different way to enable head teachers to make decisions around what鈥檚 the best way of investing that money鈥. But they will essentially have to make the case to secure funding. McInnes added heads will 鈥渉ave to come and make the case to the other headteachers in their group about why they should get that level of funding 鈥 which I think is fair and transparent, because they鈥檙e accountable to their peers鈥. The changes are based on national 鈥渆vidence and research鈥, she added. 鈥淪ome people are going to be a bit anxious about it, absolutely it鈥檚 a change, but there is widespread support for moving to another system. We can鈥檛 stay on the same system.鈥 But David Bartram, a former government SEND adviser, said that in theory the model prevents a 鈥渃lashing of horns鈥 between councils and schools as it still depends on having enough money and resource available locally. Councils slash top-up cash under inclusion plans As part of inclusion plans, two councils have actually cut their top-up funding. Norfolk headteachers warned of redundancies after the cash-strapped council cut top-up funding to remain within its 拢35 million budget. Heads warned this will impact on their ability to be inclusive, but the council is already falling behind its spending targets linked to the 拢70 million bailouts it is due to get under the government鈥檚 controversial safety valve scheme. Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire Council will only give top-up funding to pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), unless in 鈥渆xceptional circumstances鈥. It has a 拢6 million overspend on its SEND funding. As councils try to lower soaring rates of EHCPs, Margaret Mulholland, SEND specialist at ASCL leaders鈥 union, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not helpful to set a precedent that EHCPs are the only route to additional funding. 鈥淣ot all pupils with high needs require a plan, and this could delay them from being able to access timely support.鈥 Specialist in mainstream Another focus for councils is opening more specialist provision within mainstream schools. A quarter of new specialist places planned by councils as part of the 拢2.6 billion capital grant they got from government are in mainstream schools, Special Needs Jungle analysis found. There are two routes to do this. SEN units are a special provision within mainstream schools where pupils are taught in separate classes for at least half of their time. These have risen from 352 in 2020-21 to 392 last year, government data shows. The second is resourced provision, where places are reserved in mainstream schools for pupils with SEN, who are taught for at least half of their time within mainstream classes but require a base and specialist support. There were 1,168 of these last year, up from 1,066 three years ago. Norfolk will utilise 拢120 million capital funding to open 50 鈥渟pecialist resource bases鈥 in its mainstream schools, providing 746 places by 2027. This would help reduce its reliance on the independent specialist school sector. Norfolk鈥檚 special schools are so full that some dining areas are too small to serve all students at once, forcing 鈥渟ome to have meals in classroom settings鈥, council documents state. There has also been the 鈥渆limination of dedicated spaces needed for delivering aspects of the curriculum 鈥 like art, music or science facilities to make room for classes of pupils鈥. New special schools delayed There have also been delays by DfE in the timeline to deliver two new special schools. 鈥淓xtreme pressures鈥 in these schools risk lower Ofsted grades, they said. 鈥淭o enable special schools to remain sustainable and to provide good education for their pupils it is imperative that inclusion in mainstream schools is increased,鈥 the council warned. SEND consultant Natalie Packer said resourced provision provides 鈥渂alance鈥 for pupils, but she is concerned schools with the most physical space will be chosen over those that can provide the best quality provision. She also pointed out there was little guidance over the use of such provision, with leaders more widely concerned about oversight. Unity Schools Partnership has offered to create specialist places in its mainstream schools after rolling this out in neighbouring Suffolk. Tim Coulson, chief executive, said they can be quick to open and relieve the pressure on councils, with pupils staying local rather than being sent to specialist provision miles away. 鈥淭ypically, you appoint staff with a greater level of expertise鈥 so it鈥檚 really useful for the whole school. It feels like a special school environment but in a mainstream school,鈥 he added. North Somerset is also opening more resource bases as well as 鈥渘urture groups鈥 for youngsters with social, emotional and mental health needs. The council, also on the safety valve scheme, warned it faces effective bankruptcy unless it receives more government cash for SEND. It is also launching a memorandum of co-operation, which schools are asked to sign up to, setting out expectations on inclusion. For example, schools should ensure that 鈥渢hey are using any funding given in the most efficient and effective way鈥.
Wendy Smith 11 October 2024 Can I just clarify. A year 7 student performing 7 years below his peers would be at year 1. That is still learning to sit at a desk. Unable to decide beyond simple phonics sounds and just about counting to 10. You expect them to manage in mainstream secondary potentially and at best with half their classes in some kind of specialist provision. You call this inclusion You are completely baffled at the deterioration in attendance behaviour and increase in complaints. So the solution is finding the poor parents of these children so desperately in need of help because they simply cannot function in that way. Am I reading this right? Is it possible things have gone so wrong!
11 October 2024 We are an inclusive school with 98% EAL as an additional challenge in a highly deprived area, usually criticised by Ofsted if our SATs results are a bit lower than national, whilst wilfully ignoring the fact that our SEN, EAL and PP are massvely higher tgan national. They cannot have it both ways! Also inclusion has to be appropriate not just cheap. We have been forced to take apupil with no language, has a mental age of 18 months, a concentration soan of 2 minutes, wears nappies, cannot make marks, cannot play with sand or playdough because he eats it. The LA told us there is no reason why he cannot attend our mainstream stand alone Junior school and given 7 grand for a full year’s full time provision. I can think of loads of reasons why we are the wrong school for this poor kid, and our attitude towards him and his needs are not one of them.