Oct 9, 2022, East Anglian Daily Times: Multi-million pound package for extra SEND provision in Suffolk schools https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/local-council/financial-support-for-send-school-provision-9315840
SE England
Proposals for a multi-million pound support package for special needs in schools will be discussed by Suffolk County Council next Tuesday.
As part of plans to enhance SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision to meet rising demand, the Cabinet will be asked to consider spending £7m [$7.7M] on the development of SEMH (Social, Emotional & Mental Health) specialist units attached to mainstream schools.
Councillors will also discuss the £3m [$3.3M] creation of three additional specialist units to support those with SEMH and Speech, Language and Communication Needs - believed to establish 42 places.
A further request has been made to support the application for two free schools for children with specific learning disability (SLD), along with a further school for those with ASD and complex SEMH.
Suffolk currently has insufficient places to meet growing demand, with the need significantly outweighing capacity.
Council papers reveal the risk of not agreeing to the programme will mean that the Council cannot meet the demand for SEND placements and "will see its reliance on the independent sector grow."
The documents also say "the number of children inappropriately placed within educational settings", with "children’s needs not being met in a timely manner."
In a report to Cabinet in June, Gemma Morgan, head of SEND funding and provider services, and Laura Greenland, provider services manager, say the need is increasing every week.
They said: "Suffolk has seen an unprecedented rise in requests for placements within Specialist Settings with the Special Education Panel seeing between 60-120 new referrals on a weekly basis. When comparing autumn and spring terms over the past two academic years, the number of requests has gone up by over 32%.
"Between September 2021 and May 2022 there have been 1,333 referrals for specialist placements for children currently in mainstream schools.
"Of those, 380 specialist placements were offered and a further 144 were identified as being suitable for a specialist setting. However, no spaces are currently available.
"These children will continue to be supported in mainstream schools by SCC’s Specialist Education Service. However, they require a specialist placement as soon as possible."
Schools will be asked to express an interest in the support package and a competitive process will be used to determine which providers are most suitable.
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