Posted on Thursday 17th October 2024
Staffordshire County Council has responded to concerns from local MPs about Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision.
The response comes after local MPs submitted a joint letter to the county council regarding its provision across the county.
Leader of Staffordshire County Council Alan White said:
“This is a matter of huge importance for us, and I am grateful that MPs wish to support us in tackling it.
“We want every child in Staffordshire to have the opportunity to thrive and we are doing everything we can with the resources we have. However, Government funding isn’t nearly enough to meet the increasing need for support, nor the increasingly complex needs of the children we see.”
Staffordshire has seen a 55 per cent increase in the number of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) over the past four years, yet the county remains one of the lowest funded authorities in the country for High Needs funding.
According to the Local Government Association, since the 2014 reforms of the SEND system, the number of children and young people nationally with EHCPs increased by 140% over 10 years.
Added to this, research conducted by the ISOS Partnership on behalf of the County Councils Network and the Local Government Association confirms that spending by Local Authorities exceeded the high needs funding allocations from Government by £890 million in 2023-4, and this could rise to £1.1 billion and £1.3 billion over the next two years.
Alan continued:
“This is not an issue unique to Staffordshire; the national system is failing and needs fundamental reform. We’re doing as much as we can with what we have, and have made investments in special schools, education psychologists and SEND keyworkers to support and speed up assessments.
“While this is making a difference, we need decisive action to support the immediate and whole system reform that is required. Therefore, I welcome the support of Staffordshire's MPs in lobbying for this much needed policy and funding review, and hope we can work together to secure long-lasting changes to the system at a government level.”