(UK) Somerset: Council to spend $9M over next 5yrs to transform SPED program

Aug 30, 2026,  £7m programme to improve Somerset children's services | Somerset County Gazette 

Somerset Council has committed £7m [$9M] through its transformation programme in a bid to turn around its children's services over the next five years.

Spending on vulnerable children - including those in care and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) - forms a significant section of the council's annual budget, with demand rising year after year.

In a bid to bring its finances under control as its next budget approaches, the council has launched the 'My World, My Tomorrow' programme, which aims to support children earlier and "reduce avoidable escalation into care".

Up to £7m will be invested in the programme's delivery, which aims to deliver more than £28m [$37M] of savings by 2031/32.

Claire Winter, the council's executive director for children, families and education services, laid out the rationale for the programme when the council's executive committee met in Taunton on August 5.

She said: "The rate of children entering care has doubled since 2023. With 16 per cent of those children, that could have been avoided if we'd got involved earlier.

"We also have 23 per cent of our children in care being looked after in residential care, with the national average being ten per cent.

"There are poor outcomes for children in residential care - that's very well-researched in terms of their outcomes going into adulthood - and obviously the cost of residential care is absolutely huge compared to foster care.

"We have seen a net increase in foster carers over the last two years, which goes against the national trend of steep declines.

"We are bucking that trend, but not in sufficient numbers to actually be able to meet the needs of our children."

Somerset Council's headquarters at County Hall in Taunton (Image: Somerset County Gazette)

The programme - which was named by young people following a consultation - is designed not only to cut costs but to implement and build on recommendations following Ofsted's recent inspection of the service. . . .