Bryan Slater Director of Education	Distribution
	Headteachers and Chairman of Governors All Schools

The attached document is provided for your information:

INFORMATION	Title	Suspension of Autumn Term 2004 SEN Pupil Audit
	Summary of contents	Outlining the proposals and giving schools notice that it is intended to suspend the Autumn term 2004 SEN pupil audit.
	Associated documents	Section 52 Budget Statement
	Date	14 July 2004
	Effective from
	LEA Contact	Hilary Bradshaw Nigel Peacock Ros Vahey	(	01603 222427 01603 222348 01603 223472
	E-mail address	hilary.bradshaw@norfolk.gov.uk nigel.peacock@norfolk.gov.uk ros.vahey@norfolk.gov.uk
	Norfolk Self Review reference	7. How well is the school led and managed?
	Document reference	MI 146/04

Dear Colleague

SUSPENSION OF AUTUMN TERM 2004 SEN PUPIL AUDIT

It is proposed to consult schools during the Autumn term on revised arrangements for the distribution of SEN funding within mainstream schools. This review of SEN funding does not affect the separate arrangements for funding Special Schools.

As part of the Fair Funding consultation process a two-stage consultation process is planned. The initial stage of consultation will focus on the “success factors”. The agreed “success factors” will be principal drivers for the new funding arrangements. Consultation meetings to discuss these factors will be held in the week commencing 4 October at venues in Norwich, King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Dereham and these will replace the usual audit training sessions run by Pupil Access and Support Service.

The second phase of consultation will set out detailed funding options showing a school by school analysis. This consultation phase will also be supported by consultation meetings which are planned to be held in the week commencing 22 November.

My purpose of writing to you now is to outline these proposals which were discussed with and supported by the Schools Forum meeting on 8 July and also to give you notice that as part of these changes, it is intended to suspend the Autumn term 2004 SEN pupil audit. Soundings taken recently with the Schools Forum and other headteacher groups suggest that since it is the intention to change the SEN funding arrangements from April 2005 to a simpler way of determining relative need between schools, the amount of work involved in carrying out the audit could not be justified to schools this year.

I will write to you to confirm this position once Cabinet has formally approved the suspension of the Autumn term SEN pupil audit. However, I wanted to make sure that you were aware that this was likely to happen as soon as possible. Full details of the proposals relating to SEN funding will be contained in the Fair Funding consultation papers which are planned to be in schools before the end of September.

If you have any queries regarding this letter, please contact the following people:

SEN related: Nigel Peacock 01603 222348

Ros Vahey 01603 223472

Formula Funding related: Hilary Bradshaw 01603 222427

Yours sincerely

Director of Education

cc: Chairman of Governors