1. High Needs and Banding – an overview

2. Why?
The process has been designed to support settings in applying to the Local Authority for additional funding to support those pupils/students who have been identified as having high needs.
This process has been developed over the past 2 years and this is a part of the 3 year implementation journey to Local Authority is on as part of the introduction of the DfEs Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years.

3. Who are High Needs Pupils/Students?
Children and Young People whose development/learning and/or behaviour needs are significantly “additional to” or “different from” the differentiated curriculum and educational provision made generally for children or young people of their age in mainstream schools.
AND
When offering that support there is irrefutable evidence that the cost to the school, per annum is more than the AWPU + £6,000 from the school’s devolved additional needs funding (notional SEN budget- schools block).
When having been offered that support there is evidence from school progress data and a compelling argument that more accelerated progress could be made if additional resources were provided and the school has a specific costed action plan (which might be part of a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an education, Health and Care Plan) which outlines how High Needs Block funding would enable specific, measurable and achievable outcomes for the child or young person to be made.
LCC, 2014, Top Up and Banding: Liverpool’s approach to meeting the needs of High Needs Pupils, Pg. 6

4. How is the Funding to support students with SEN provided to a setting?
Element 1: Core education funding - Mainstream per-student funding (as calculated by the national funding system)
Element 2: Additional support funding - Contribution of £6,000 to additional support required by a student with high needs
Element 3: Top-up funding - “Top-up” funding from the commissioner to meet the needs of each pupil or student placed in the institution
Adapted from Figure 1 (p.43) of the DfE publication - School funding reform: Next steps towards a fairer system.

5. Now looking at further roll-out to post-16 sector and early years.
Progress to Date
Banding document and criteria for use with schools created in conjunction with representatives from primary, secondary and special schools.
– Banding and Top Up Funding roll out commenced across schools:
Bandings starting to be applied to pupils with Statements of SEN /Education, Health and Care(EHC) Plans across mainstream and special schools
Mainstream schools able to apply for Top Up for pupils with high needs but without a Statement of SEN/EHC Plan.
Now looking at further roll-out to post-16 sector and early years.

6. Submitting a Banding/Top Up Application…
The needs of the child/young person are identified against the Banding Criteria p66 onwards of Top Up and Banding: Liverpool’s approach to meeting the needs of High Needs Pupils using all appropriate evidence available.
From this a Banding Level can be applied to the child/young person
A costed provision map is drawn up by the setting to identify the provision to be put in place to support the child/young person’s needs – this is the individualised support put in place to support their SEN (how the Element 1 funding is spent does not need to be set out in this). The provision map will show how the first £6000 of the Element 2 funding is spent, and how much is then required as element 3 Top Up funding.

7. Banding Criteria Exercise