Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2021/112

Contact: Hayley Good, Deputy Director of Education Tel: 07551 680562

Report by Corporate Director for Children’s Services (CA9).

To seek agreement of the SEND top-up funding arrangements for academic year beginning September 2021.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)               Agree an increase in Top-Up funding for Early Years settings, mainstream Primary, mainstream Secondary and Special Schools. The increase will only be available in the year 2021-2022. 

b)              Note that for Secondary Schools, the increased top-up is applicable where the formulaic approach is insufficient for schools to meet the needs of the child. This decision would not reduce the amount of Top-Up funding a Secondary school currently receives.

c)               Note that system reform is required for SEND in Oxfordshire. A public consultation on this is planned for later in 2021. The interim arrangements above for Top-Up funding are a holding position while the detailed work in this complex area are worked through.

Cabinet considered a report recommending that the increase in Top-Up funding for 2020-21 be maintained for the academic year 2021-22.

Councillor Ian Corkin, Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, spoke to support the Recommendation which was an extension of the policy of the last administration.  He described the problems in this area as complex with a complicated financial backdrop across the country.  He paid tribute to the work by the Corporate Director for Children’s Services, Kevin Gordon, and his team in trying to resolve the situation.

Councillor Corkin suggested that the long-term solution should include

·                strong partnership working in co-production with parents, carers and young people at the formative stages of policy development;

·                joint commissioning across education, health and social care;

·                a focus on core processes so that needs can be identified early and accurately;

·                a commitment to deliver specialised in-county provision including a ‘mainstream plus’ option.

·                preparation for adulthood which should include engagement with local employers

Councillor Liz Brighouse thanked Councillor Corkin for his support and responded that the points he had raised were being examined.  The problem was that a solution was needed quite quickly but there would be a consultation process in the autumn. 

Councillor Brighouse added that when the previous administration provided the top-up funding, they had envisaged that the government review would be complete by now but it had been further delayed.  She asked Councillor Corkin to use his network to impress upon government the urgency of the matter.

Councillor Glynis Phillips proposed an amendment to Recommendation a) to include the amount of the increase - £3.2.  This was seconded by Councillor Brighouse.

The following comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee that discussed this Cabinet proposal at its meeting on 16 July 2021 were read out:

·         Members supported this important provision.

·         The pressure on schools had increased following cuts to other services for children with SEN.

·         Training for teaching staff was a key support.  There was a need to recognise that fatigue can be a significant factor.

·         What was being done to achieve a more sustainable solution and to create more capacity for special needs education within the county?

·         Did the increase in numbers of children with SEN reflect an actual increase in need or were we getting better at identifying these needs?  Do we need to re-evaluate the criteria?

·         Some schools have a much higher proportion of children with SEN.  Should the funding allocations take account of that?

·         When it came to looking at reform, schools and teachers were key stakeholders that needed to be central to any consultation.

Kevin Gordon thanked the scrutiny committee for the points which were very relevant and useful.  He was pleased to see an overall consensus on the problems.  He had been working with schools for the last nine months on the new approach.  The SEND budgets belonged to schools – the Council was a custodian of the funds. He proposed to come back to future meetings with more briefings on reforms that will address the points raised.

The amended Recommendations were put to the meeting.

RESOLVED to:

a)           Agree an increase of £3.2m in Top-Up funding for Early Years settings, mainstream Primary, mainstream Secondary and Special Schools. The increase will only be available in the year 2021-2022. 

b)           Note that for Secondary Schools, the increased top-up is applicable where the formulaic approach is insufficient for schools to meet the needs of the child. This decision would not reduce the amount of Top-Up funding a Secondary school currently receives.

c)           Note that system reform is required for SEND in Oxfordshire. A public consultation on this is planned for later in 2021. The interim arrangements above for Top-Up funding are a holding position while the detailed work in this complex area are worked through.