Need, demand or expectations - What is fuelling High Needs Block Pressures? Les Knight – Head of Additional Needs for Herefordshire Council

Here we are Not here

National Picture of Demand f40 Survey – Summer 2016 Most LAs have a deficit in the High Needs block which is being filled either by the last of reserves or movements from other blocks ADCS information – Nov 2017 68 of 85 responding LAs HNB average overspend £2m Regional networks W. Mids. and S. West All but one LA overspent in HNB 2017-18 ISOS analysis – Incr. 2014-17 21% EHCPs 3.3% special school places SFR and S251 benchmarking- moving target! Some alarming stories with schools potentially being pitted against LA as attempts are made to ‘fill the hole’ in the budgets

Evidence of demand 1- High Needs top-ups

Evidence of Demand 2 – SEMH Special

Evidence of demand 3 – Home and Hospital Team Numbers Rise in numbers from 18 to 46 learners over 3 years 80% emotional and mental health presentation All agreed as not being able to attend school by CAMHS Cost of providing the service £129k to nearly £273 k

Need, demand or expectation? Change in need within population – better survival rates/Foetal alcohol etc – Estimated 5-10% growth Children and Families Act – parental expectation School performance measures Curriculum pace and complexity Increased costs of staffing – SEN discretionary spend No national change in thresholds

Additional Unfunded Pressures Post-16 Extension of EHCPs to age 25 Hospital School duties – sufficient and suitable Education for Tier 4 mental health in-patients Growth in EHC Plans pre-16 and pre-school Growth in Tribunals

Action taken – short term £800k from £14m HNB) taken in 2015/16 Flagged up ‘worst case scenario’ – schools focused £2m overspend within 3 years with current growth All areas of HNB under scrutiny – Top-up tariffs Short-term measures to allow longer term thinking Finer grained tariffs more responsive to need - £300k Central services savings - £65k PRU charges – pupils placement £6k to £7k Reduce SEN protection scheme Even with this, small reserves greatly reduced Ensuring point of entry to system is strong – Rigour around SEN Referral panel

Strategic Approach Locally The whole system is interrelated Need to Collective responsibility (Schools/settings/LA/Partners/Families) Need to re-connect with a fully inclusive ethos – ‘not turn our back on any child’ Can we develop a system of partnerships to take responsibility? Investment in training/skills/coaching Important to understand consequences of actions and not to create perverse incentive

National Policy Drivers Pressures on mainstream schools – Curriculum and targets (measuring progress of the most needy – difficult but could be improved) What is really important for High Needs pupils? Ambiguity with regard to inclusion – presumption to mainstream Funding model for High Needs – Principles of national formula and ISOS work Consideration of ‘sparsity’ The alternative is increasing levels of funding, continual pressure on local government to do more with less… and more young people not being well served