Extra £9 million will fund new places for pupils with SEND

It has been announced that Suffolk will receive £9,441,348 from the Department for Education to invest in new SEND school places.

Plans will now be drawn up by the Local Area SEND Partnership.

This funding is in addition to the 200 new SEND places that Suffolk County Council’s cabinet will discuss on Tuesday 1 April.

Andrew Reid, Cabinet member for Education and SEND at Suffolk County Council, said: “This investment is a welcome addition for Suffolk’s children and young people, and their families.

“In the last five years, we have agreed 1,025 new specialist places. However, our analysis tells us we must continue to invest in new places to keep up with demand. This new funding will support that growth.”

Using the recently published Joint SEND Needs Assessment Report, work is underway to create a Joint SEND Sufficiency Plan, written in conjunction with health, social care, inclusion and transport. This will establish how this new money should be spent.

The additional funding, announced on Thursday by the Department for Education, is from the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation and awarded to all local authorities across England. In total, the East of England will receive £126.6 million which will fund around 1,000 places for children with SEND.

The Local Area Partnership, which delivers SEND services in the county, is made up of Suffolk County Council, the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB, the Suffolk Parent Carer Forum and education settings.