Despite the news of an additional £1.2m for those with complex special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) this year, schools on the Isle of Wight with a higher proportion of children with SEND may still find their budgets stretched.
Bid rejected by DfE
An application by the Isle of Wight council to transfer 1.5% between funding pots (from ‘Schools Block’ to the ‘High Needs Block’) has been rejected by the Department for Education (DfE).
Instead, the Isle of Wight council has been told they can only transfer 0.5% to the funding pot supporting children and young people with SEND.
The news was revealed in Schools Week last Friday (see article in full).
Schools to be hard hit
The Isle of Wight SEN Support Group on Facebook say,
“One of the impacts will be on the budgets of schools that have a larger proportion of children with SEND.
“The introduction of a SEN cap will mean cuts to the SEND budgets of Barton Primary, Lanesend Primary, Brighstone Primary, Oakfield Primary, and Newport Primary. Lanesend is set to be particularly hard hit – with a loss of £43,110 next year.”
For more details see the Isle of Wight SEN Support Facebook Page.
Seely: Schools have been historically underfunded
Meanwhile, on Monday Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely, issued a press release advising that he’d received written confirmation Island schools “will receive a significant increase in funding for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)”.
In a letter to the Isle of Wight MP, Children and Families Minister, Vicky Ford, said,
“Mainstream schools on the Isle of Wight will attract 3.9% more per pupil in 2021, which is an additional £3.5 million in total cash funding.
“The local authority will also receive £16.25 million in funding for those with complex special educational needs, £1.2 million more than they are receiving this year.”
Bob may not have seen the news about the DfE’s rejection of the IWC block funding bid, but welcoming the news from the Minister, Bob said,
“Headteachers across the Island have been telling me that schools have been historically underfunded, and I’m delighted that the Government is taking steps to address this.
“We want to be able to give our children the best possible start in life and that starts with a good education. Schools have been doing their best under often difficult circumstances and I’m delighted that this additional funding will start to reduce the pressure they have been under.
“The additional support to help with provision for children with SEND will also ensure that those children get the support they need to thrive at school.”
Image: ginza-line under CC BY 2.0
