This policy paper seeks to draw together an analysis of the current arrangements for funding of special schools and alternative provision, the concerns for the future, and recommends immediate and longer-term action.
Consensus can be a very difficult thing to achieve. Yet there is consensus that our current approach to the education we provide for some of our most vulnerable children is not working for too many of them. A significant and continuing rise in demand has put significant operational pressure on schools, local authorities, and health care providers, creating pinch points and distress for many parents and children. There is widespread agreement that we cannot continue with our current approach to special educational needs and alternative provision. There is less clarity on what that means.
CST members trusts have long highlighted the importance of these settings in ensuring a functioning and responsible education system for all. In recent months, we have intensified our work in this area, alongside initiatives from government, to work towards a vision of how we get to a better place.
We have heard from the leaders of trusts with specialist and alternative provision settings of the very significant financial concerns shared by many, with inflationary pressures across all areas of spending set against the financial constraints of so many local authorities, with substantial long-term High Needs deficits. This discussion paper seeks to draw together an analysis of the current situation, the concerns for the future, and recommends immediate and longer-term action.
Additional funding is essential, but it can only be a sticking plaster for a broken system. We need a fundamental rethink of our approach to special needs and alternative provision that enables more flexible, needs-driven provision and is funded on the real costs of support. Cost must not be the primary driver of that change – our children’s lives and potential must be our guiding star – but it is an inescapable factor, and one that must be fully considered to ensure a sustainable and successful approach.
