Issue details

In October 2021, the government announced it will invest £2.6bn between 2022 and 2025 to support Local Authorities to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND, particularly those with more complex needs, and for those pupils who require alternative provision. The aim of the funding is to meet the capital costs associated with providing new places and improving existing provision, for: -Children and young people with complex needs, who have Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs), and where appropriate other children and young people with SEND who do not have an EHCP; -Pupils who require alternative provision (including children in Alternative Provision settings without an EHCP). -Funding is predominantly intended for school aged children, but Local Authorities can spend it across the 0-25 age range, including in special post-16 institutions or other further education (FE) settings. The funding is intended to address the need for places in academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25, but it is not time-bound. Staffordshire County Council is proposing to use this capital investment to support the Vision and Priorities outlined in the Staffordshire Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy 2021-2026 The SEND Strategy Vision is: “All children and young people with SEND are given the opportunity to achieve everything that they can. They engage with the right support at the right time from their parents/carers, the community and the professionals that work with them to make this happen.” Key areas of focus within the strategy are: - Children and young people are given the opportunity to be educated in their local mainstream education setting whenever it can meet their needs - Wherever possible children will access education placements that are close to home to help develop friendships in their local community and promote independent travel. - Staffordshire County Council is therefore proposing to use the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation funding on projects which will increase: 1/ Access to mainstream placements for children and young people with high needs (who might otherwise require more specialist provision) with the development of resource bases. 2/ The local availability of high needs places to help reduce the requirement for out of area placements/placements at independent special schools.