1. Primary, Secondary, AP, Special Schools
High Needs Funding
Primary, Secondary, AP, Special Schools

2. Schools’ Funding National Funding Formula (DfE - ESFA) Schools Block
High Needs
Early Years
Central Services Grant
All funding blocks cash limited and ring fenced
Schools Block - High Needs top-slice max 0.5% (20–21 = £2.35m)

3. Who gets what? Schools block (maintained and academies)
Basic pupil need (AWPU)
Notional SEN budget (9% of AWPU and 12.7% deprivation funding)
Meet the needs of pupils with low cost, high incidence SEN
Contribute towards the costs of provision for pupils with high needs (up to £6,000)
High Needs Block
Funding for pupils with EHC Plans (annually reviewed)
Mainstream schools
Special Schools
Alternate Provision
‘Out of County’ specialist providers

4. Mainstream Schools Based on Statutory Assessment (EHC)
5 funding levels £0, £1,500, £3,000, £4,500, £6,000
Locally identified High Needs below EHC
Top-up finding via application by school to High Needs Panel
£500 to £6,000

5. Special Schools and designated units
All students with EHC plans (moving from Matrix to RAS from September 2019)
Base allocation £10,000 (£6,000 + £4,000)
Top-up rates – Matrix/RAS (£1,490 - £21,959)

6. Challenges (local and national)
Cash limits vs increasing demands
Complexity of needs – wrong provision, wrong location
Specialist ‘out of county’ providers (vey high costs)
High Needs Panel – gateway process but administrative burden
SEN Tribunals – independent arbiter
Exclusions (AP costs ~ £20k pa) (numbers rising in primary and secondary)
Travel costs
Provision (Northamptonshire Sufficiency Report 2019)
Off-rolling

7. Governors’ role SEND Governor Safeguarding
Recognising, managing and mitigating risks
Securing suitable provision – meeting children’s needs
Staffing – recruitment, training and retention – teaching and non-teaching
Curriculum – meeting individual need
Performance – assessment and reporting
Finance – monitoring allocation and efficiency
Managing parental expectations – Northamptonshire local offer - what is the school’s offer?
Legal minefield – litigious parents/carers – reputational risk