(UK) Beds: $2.9M SPED funding boost made available to council
A government funding boost for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform in schools and better access to professional expertise could improve pupil experience and ease the pressure on parents.
About £2.2m [$2.9M] of government finance is due to be made available to Central Bedfordshire Council, during the first year of the programme.
A proposed ‘experts at hand’ model will give schools and education settings more coordinated access to specialist professionals, according to a CBC statement. . . .
“We know that families can find the SEND system difficult to navigate, while demand on services continues to grow. These reforms won’t deliver change overnight, but they provide an important opportunity to build a more inclusive, responsive and sustainable system in the coming years.”
Director of SNAP parent carer forum (PCF) Kirsty Green said: “We welcome the commitment to improving support for children and young people with SEND. . . .
Central Bedfordshire has more than 4,480 active education, health and care plans (EHCPs), with the number of plans having increased by 157 per cent since January 2019, added the CBC statement.
“Progress will be monitored through performance measures, quality assurance and feedback from children, families, schools and practitioners.”
Executive member for children and families councillor Mackey told CBC’s executive: “This provides us quite an opportunity to access government finance, after quite a process with changing guidance all the way through.
“We’re looking at £2.2m in the immediate future,” he said. “It also contributes to the government’s plan of reimbursing 90 per cent of our high needs deficit fund, which could end up being around £56m [$76M]. . . .
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