Written question asked by Justin Tomlinson (Conservative) on Monday, 18 December 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 January 2024. It was answered by David Johnston (Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 January 2024 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing schools to access SEN funding outside of the statutory assessment period.

Answer: The department expects schools to have access to high needs funding wherever the costs of additional support for a pupil with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are in excess of £6,000 per pupil per annum. Local authorities can provide this additional SEN funding for schools in respect of pupils who are awaiting the completion of a statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, or do not otherwise have an EHC plan. Local authorities determine the circumstances in which such allocations of high needs funding are made and the amounts to allocate to schools.

Secondary information