Management Information Sheet

This MI sheet will outline the future arrangements for the funding for pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) which is currently delegated to the school clusters.

It will cover:

1. What has happened in Norfolk?
2. What do we need to do?
3. How will the system change?
4. How will this be better?
5. What happens next

Introduction

Children and young people in Norfolk with special education needs and disabilities must be well served by our system. We are committed to ensuring that we support and challenge the system to meet their needs effectively. Where the Local Authority has specific duties to directly fund and enable provision, whether in our Complex Needs/Special School system, alternative provision or for those children with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in our mainstream schools, we will ensure that we target the available additional funding appropriately. We are committed to keeping local children in their local schools wherever possible but our overarching aim is to ensure that children and young people get the right support, at the right time and in the right place.

We have a duty to ensure that the funding that we have available to support those with high needs is available for them as they move within the education system.

In order to do this the Local Authority must carry out its duty to directly fund the requirements of an EHC Plan by:

• ensuring there is sufficient High Needs Block funding for those children already in and moving into complex / special or alternative provision and enabling the system to expand to meet demand
• allocating funding directly to schools to ensure the plans for all eligible children in mainstream are appropriately funded.

In order to achieve this we will:

• cease all funding via the school clusters from the end of September 2018
• implement a new system managed by the Virtual School for SEND to allocate 'top up' funding to meet high needs in mainstream schools
• Fund clusters until 30th September 2018 as part of the transition arrangements.

1) What has happened in Norfolk?

Children in Norfolk are achieving better and better outcomes at every Key Stage in Norfolk schools. Over 90% of schools are judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding. It is a fact that Norfolk has historically been above the national benchmarks in identifying children with SEND. Whilst this began to decline it remains proportionally high overall compared to other similar Local Authorities. In the last three years we have seen a significant rise in referrals for an EHCP.

Currently there are almost 20,000 Norfolk children and young people identified as children with SEND. Of those just over 5,000 hold a Statement of Special Educational Need / Education Health and Care Plan. Annually approximately 650 children have been referred for Statements of Special Educational Needs. This has now reached almost 1,000 referrals for and EHCP in the last 12 month period.

Historically Norfolk schools had been low excluding, especially in relation to permanent exclusions. In 2015 - 2016 double the number of children were permanently excluded compared to the previous year. This number was maintained in 2016 - 2017. So far in 2017 - 2018 the number of children permanently excluded is only very slightly lower than in the previous two years at this time.

The average cost of places in complex / special and alternative provision is three times the cost of a school place in the maintained system. Over the last five years there has been a rise in demand for complex / special and alternative places as well as the significant rise in the number of children who are permanently excluded from our schools. The cost of this additional pressure on the High Needs Block is approximately £13.2m.

We have:

• Carried out a financial consultation in November 2016 and November 2017 - 60 schools responded to the financial consultation in November 2017
• Met with over half the school clusters
• Formed a Schools Forum Task and Finish Working Group as a sub group of Schools Forum to work out the proposals this year
• Discussed the proposals with Schools Forum and gained agreement
• Discussed the proposals at January Children's Services Committee and gained agreement.

2) What do we need to do?

• We need to move funding to follow the children that are moving from mainstream schools and who require higher cost provision
• We need a simpler model to ensure that money is targeted effectively at the children and young people in mainstream schools with high needs.

The High Needs Block

The High Needs Block is a flat rate government grant. The additional pressure of £13.2m has used up all reserves held in the Dedicated Schools Grant in the last few years.

In autumn term 2016 we consulted on moving funding from the Schools Block, reducing central services funded by the High Needs Block and moving £4.5m from cluster funding to fund the places for children who had moved from mainstream into complex / special or alternative provision. Following the consultation and working with the Schools Forum we agreed to move less than the maximum 0.5% from the High Needs Block and to defer the movement of cluster funding for a year. As a result we moved £1.8m from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block and saved £750k from central services. This left the High Needs Block with a shortfall of over £6m to fund existing places in complex / special and alternative provision.

We consulted again in November 2017 on moving the maximum 0.5% from the Schools Block, and moving £4m from cluster funding to offset the shortfall in higher cost provision, as well as a further £1m from cluster funding to use as an incentive / investment fund in mainstream schools. This year we have agreed these proposals with Schools Forum and the Children's Services Committee. Even moving £4m of the £5m proposed reduction from clusters, and the £2.3m from the Schools Block, there will still be a shortfall of approximately £4m to fund the current provision for complex / special and alternative provision. We can apply to the Secretary of State to move greater sums than 0.5% from the Schools Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant to the High Needs Block which will affect the minimum funding guarantee. We have tried to avoid this to date but if exclusions and high referrals for EHC Plans continue on the same trajectory this is something we will need to implement in November 2018.

A simple model

• The Local Authority will allocate funding for SEND top up that has previously been delegated to clusters

Currently schools clusters have £9.4m available to use with children, over and above the £36m for children with SEND already in school budgets. Approximately 2,000 children have a Statement of Special Educational Need / EHCP in mainstream schools (2,000 are already in complex / special or alternative provision and over 600 in post-16 provision). Schools have the responsibility for using their notional SEND funding to meet children's needs. The duty on the Local Authority is to ensure that schools are able to deliver the requirements of Education Health and Care Plans.

3) How will the system change?

• Cluster funding for SEND will cease to be delegated to school clusters from the end of September 2018, however clusters will be funded with 6/12ths at the reduced rate to be used up until the end of September 2018
• Application for SEND top up funding will be made to the Virtual School for SEND
• Schools will be invited to allow SENCOs to be commissioned and funded via the Local Authority to work in partnership to evaluate applications with the Virtual School Head, starting in the summer term 2018

We have been advised by the DfE that the Local Authority should hold this funding centrally in order to ensure it is allocated fairly across the county and used to deliver the recommendations in children's plans. Local Authorities who had previously delegated funding, such as Nottinghamshire who we used as the basis for our cluster model, have now moved to return funding to central allocation as part of their response to the 2014 SEND Reforms.

We will ensure that the summer 2018 period is a transition period. A reduced budget as planned will be delegated to school clusters for this term and through to the end of the September. There will be a first round of application for funding during the summer term 2018 in order to ensure continuity to deliver the requirements of Education Health and Care Plans. Schools will be advised of the process which we agree with the Schools Forum and the Chairs of the Associations.

Many clusters have planned already to deal with their responsibility towards cluster appointed staff, however FAQs will be uploaded to the finance website by Monday 12th March 2018. Please follow this link (efs.norfolk.gov.uk), and select S under the A-Z and then SEN High Needs Funding FAQs.

4) How will this be better?

Many clusters have operated a successful approach to using the cluster funding to meet children's needs. Nevertheless, referrals for EHCPs are increasing, the demand for more complex / special school placements and alternative provision is increasing, and permanent exclusions are high. Some governance of the existing clusters is strong and effective and this is evident in the inclusivity of the schools within the cluster.

A new model of allocating top-up funding from the Local Authority, will ensure that sufficient top-up funding is allocated to meet the requirements of the children with EHCPs. We hope this builds on the effective practice that schools demonstrate and supports them in meeting the higher needs of some children and young people. It enables the Local Authority to use funding available for top up alongside other elements of High Needs funding i.e. that which is identified for Specialist Resource Bases. We can ensure that best practice is shared and that schools and individual children are given the right support, at the right time and in the right place.

5) What happens next

Transition arrangements

We will allocate a total of £2.34m to school clusters from April 2018 to the end of September 2018 to enable clusters to plan for the transition to new arrangements. From the cluster budget plans we have received we know that £802k is currently planned to be rolled forward to cover the summer term. However, a number of clusters have not submitted their budget cluster revisions as requested. We will need those plans before we can allocate the transitional summer term funding. We will work with clusters to identify any pupils at risk that need additional funding above and beyond this allocation, across the summer term.

In addition:

• A document which gives an overall summary view of the Norfolk SEND funding system will be published via an MI sheet by 16th March 2018
• A statutory 'Expectations' document will be available on the Local Offer for consultation by 23rd March 2018 - 'Provision Expected at SEN Support'
• A clear process for application for future funding and the involvement of school SENCOs in the moderation process will be published by 27th April 2018
• Leadership update meetings, organised by the Headteacher Associations, will have this as an agenda item - Primary meetings arranged to be held this term:
  • 12th March - Kings Lynn Innovation Centre - 3pm - 5pm (TLS-0318-T060)
  • 14th March - South Green Park - 1pm - 3pm (TLS-0318-T061)
  • 22nd March - Gt. Yarmouth Racecourse - 2pm - 4pm (TLS-0318-T062)

  To book a place on one of the Education Leadership Updates please click the visit www.s4s.norfolk.gov.uk

  Secondary meeting to be rescheduled followed cancelled meeting 6th March 2018

• Cluster funds for April to September will be published by the end of March 2018, sooner if possible based on whether we have received a budget cluster revision.

We have set up a specific inbox for questions in relation to cluster funding that will enable us to deal promptly with any queries that you might have. Please contact csSEND@norfolk.gov.uk.