published guidance<\/a> on how the funding and an additional \u00a3200 million \u201ctransformation\u201d pot will be allocated and how it must be spent.<\/p>\nFunding can’t cover support named in existing EHCPs<\/h3>\n Councils will split \u00a3429 million this financial year. This grant will \u201cfirst and predominantly\u201d provide cash for councils to work with integrated care boards (ICBs) to \u201cdevelop and deliver a new EAH offer for mainstream education settings\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the grant will also fund the administrative costs for local authorities associated with \u201cevaluating their existing SEND support services to mainstream settings\u201d and \u201cdeveloping and submitting local SEND reform plans\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the document, at least 80 per cent of the cash \u201cmust be spent on EAH direct delivery for all settings, staff and their children and young people\u201d.<\/p>\n
No more than 10 per cent can be spent on administration costs for councils\u2019 EAH offers, and no more than 10 per cent can be spent on \u201clocal authority transformation costs, including staff or other associated costs\u201d.<\/p>\n
But no funding can be used to support named in children\u2019s existing education health care plans (EHCPs), to make provision \u201cschools can or should make themselves\u201d or for the assessment for EHCPs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis funding is not intended to fill existing gaps or replace current provision, including traded services. The EAH offer should build on and enhance existing local capacity and good practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Tilt provision to mainstream’<\/h3>\n The Department for Education has said it expects that by April 2029, the average primary school will benefit from 40 days of help a year, rising to 160 days for secondary schools.<\/p>\n
However, with chronic staff shortages, school leaders have questioned where the staff will come from in an already stretched system.<\/p>\n
The guidance further sets out the government\u2019s vision for the service, telling councils to \u201censure that the EAH investment benefits all children and young people aged 0 to 25\u201d.<\/p>\n
Local areas should \u201calso consider how they will develop this offer over time to ensure there is support and appropriate provision available across early years, primary, secondary, and FE settings\u201d.<\/p>\n
And councils have also been told to \u201cstart tilting local provision to focus on early support for mainstream education settings, so that staff are able to meet the needs of children more quickly and effectively within the setting\u201d.<\/p>\n
This approach \u201cmeans mainstream education settings having access to expert professionals (both health and specialist education professionals) who can provide whole setting support, tailored guidance and strategic advice, as well as some group level interventions\u201d.<\/p>\n
The offer \u201cshould be additional to existing statutory and 1:1 support\u201d.<\/p>\n
‘Proactive schools’<\/h3>\n The DfE has also said today that councils\u2019 SEND reform plans must include a \u201cproposed approach to settings accessing support which ensures support is not disproportionately accessed by the most proactive schools and settings and includes out of area mainstream further education settings attended by local young people with SEND\u201d.<\/p>\n
The grant also includes funding to establish new speech and language therapist advanced practitioners in every ICB geographical area, the DfE said today.<\/p>\n
It will also support \u201clocal reform and work with universities, education settings and local speech and language services to get more speech and language therapists working directly with children and young people\u201d.<\/p>\n
Councils will have to assure the DfE that funding is spent in line with the guidance.<\/p>\n
It comes after the government pledged to write off 90 per cent of town hall SEND deficits. It will also take on the cost pressures in the system from 2028.<\/p>\n
In its guidance today, the DfE said future support for deficits that arise between 2026 and 2028 \u201cwill take into account local authorities successful delivery of their approved local SEND reform plan, including appropriate use of investment to establish an EAH offer\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a31.8bn fund for external support must not be &amp;#039;disproportionately accessed by the most proactive schools&amp;#039;, warns DfE guidance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":242535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[62],"post-theme":[2354],"class_list":["post-244806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-send","post-theme-inclusion"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t