(UK) Stoke: Govt adds $6.1M (U.S.) for "ballooning costs" of special education

July 21, 2020, Stoke Sentinel: Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent schools to get an extra £28m - but will it be enough? https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/staffordshire-stoke-trent-schools-extra-4346848 (Central England) Schools across the region are to benefit from an extra £40 million [$51M U.S.] in Government funding next year. Teaching unions have welcomed the cash, but say it will still leave many schools out of pocket as they are facing mounting costs…. The Government has also announced more money to help cover the ballooning costs of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision…. Stoke-on-Trent City Council recently announced plans to slash funding for pupils’ education, health and care plans in order to rein in its ‘high needs’ spending. Now the local authority will be getting an additional £4.8 million [$6.1M U.S.] in 2021/22 for high needs work. Staffordshire County Council will receive an extra £10.7 million and Cheshire East Council’s high needs budget will increase by £3.7 million. … Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of the NAHT headteachers’ union, said: “We are pleased to see that the Government has recognised the particular pressures on both small schools and SEND funding. “These are issues that NAHT has been highlighting for some time and this announcement appears to represent a significant step in the right direction. … Nationally, an additional £4.8 billion is being invested in core school funding next year. It follows the Government’s commitment to increase funding over three years by £7.1 billion. But an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found it will still leave schools with less money in ‘real terms’ than they had back in 2009/10.