Norfolk SEND support feels the strain

Norfolk County Council is being forced to increase spending on support for children with disabilities and additional needs, as a flagship programme feels the strain.

The Council’s ‘cabinet’ (senior Conservative councillors who make the key decisions) will discuss plans to increase spending on the Local First Inclusion programme by £5 million on 2nd September. Local First Inclusion is the county’s new plan to reduce demand for ‘SEND’ support. It gives Norfolk access to the government’s Safety Valve funding and the aim is to reduce the cost of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) support in the long-run.

At the same time, the County Council is begging the government to write off the growing deficit in the schools budget which is fuelled by long-term over spending on SEND. The deficit is forecast to be £115 million by March 2025 and is part of a nationwide deficit in SEND budgets of over £3 billion.

Local First Inclusion was supposed to cut spending on SEND by increasing support for children and families at an early stage. But the programme has not delivered the savings hoped for, threatening the withdrawal of government Safety Valve support.

The Cabinet report effectively blames parents for continuing to ask for the support their children are entitled to through Education and Healthcare Plans, and blames the Tribunal system for supporting parents in securing their legal rights. Rather than accepting the realities of increasing need.

There is much that is good in the Local First Inclusion programme but council bosses need to be realistic in their ambitions to reduce demand for specialist support, prioritise outcomes for children over spending cuts and work with families to build faith in the new approach over the long term.

You can read the Cabinet papers here.

And the County Council’s press release here.

The Local Government Association report into SEND spending and attainment, referred to in the County Council press release, is here.