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(UK) Essex: $1.3M for SPED; increase in need since the pandemic

Sept 29, 2024, Your Harlow: £1.7 million [$1.3M] allocated to support education inclusion in Essex


E. England


ESSEX County Council is investing a further £1,710,000 [$2.3M]  over the next three years to improve educational outcomes and experiences for pupils. The new money will be used to deliver a programme of work focused on education inclusion. This includes developing an early intervention and prevention ‘inclusion offer’ for mainstream schools.


It comes following pressures on the education system nationally. These include the pandemic, increases in children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and significant financial pressures.These challenges have negatively impacted on educational outcomes and experiences for children, young people, and their families across the country.The new programme will enable mainstream schools and settings to support pupils, whether they have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or not. It will also mean needs can be identified and support put in place for pupils more quickly. It follows the pilot of an inclusion framework in 2021 and the publishing of the Essex education inclusion strategy last year. The strategy sets out the council’s vision and commitments to inclusive and equitable education across the county. The aims of the new programme are to:


increase take up of the inclusion strategy in schools across Essex


continue to work with parents, carers, schools and settings to develop effective early intervention approaches


ensure there is a clear and comprehensive support offer for schools, with a focus on workforce development


develop recommendations around future commercial viability and income generation

It is also aligned to the council’s wider work within education to improve statutory services.


This includes the commissioning of agency education psychologists and the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) additional assistance plan. These measures have been aimed at addressing the backlog of Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNA) and improving wait times.  The £1.7 million [$2.3M] funding will enable continuation of the work arising from the inclusion strategy.  . . .




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