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 2002, Suffolk introduced a new scheme to make sure that
school budgets are set in a way that takes account of how much
support they need to provide for children with SEN. This is called
the SEN Audit.
The 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 Maths. 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 last 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.
Within the total resources of around £300 million that schools have
in 2007-8, Suffolk County Council has included just over £23
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
From April 2008, 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.