How mainstream schools are funded to meet the needs of children
with Special Educational Needs (SEN)
This page gives a summary of the way that Suffolk County Council
provides funding to mainstream schools to help them support
children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Introduction
In Suffolk extra funding is targeted to provide the additional
support that is needed by children and young people who have
special educational needs and disabilities. School budgets are set
in a way that takes account of how much support each school needs
to provide for children with SEN. This is called the SEN
Audit.
The audit system of SEN funding
- helps schools to meet children’s needs at an early stage
- targets funding fairly to schools according to need
- makes it easier for schools to provide extra support for
children without having to request a statutory assessment just
because extra funding is needed
- gives every school a minimum guideline budget for SEN.
Information about how much money is delegated for SEN is
open and transparent
- makes sure the allocation of extra funding for SEN is
consistent across the county and links it to children’s attainment
and levels of need.
How does the SEN Audit work?
- Every Autumn term each school identifies the children they have
with SEN in certain year groups. These year groups are: School
Years 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9.
- Every school assesses the needs of their children by looking at
how well they are doing in English and mathematics. Schools also
look at whether the children have any difficulties with behaviour
or if they have any physical, sensory or medical needs, which make
it more difficult for them to learn.
- The audit results for each year group are calculated and
converted into a cash amount, based on the number of audit points
(shares) that each year group generates.
- The money for each year group is added together to produce a
SEN budget for the school. This includes the money for other year
groups audited in previous year, so that all year
groups 1-11 are funded appropriately according to need.
Every school has a fully delegated, whole-school budget.
‘Delegated’ means the school makes its own decisions about how to
use its funding to best meet the needs of its pupils with SEN and
disabilities.
Within the total resources of around £375 million that schools have
in 2010-11, Suffolk County Council has included just over £24
million specifically for extra SEN support.
Schools decide how best to use their budget to meet the needs of
all their children including those with a Statement of SEN.
SEN Funding for children in Early Years
Additional SEN resources and funding for children in pre-school
settings and in Reception classes in School, can be agreed by the
local, area based Early Years Funding Panels. Extra resources are
allocated on a termly basis in order to respond to the needs of
very young children which may change more
rapidly.