Bristol’s SEND top-up consultation

This survey asks you what you think about the changes wemight make and follows an in-depth review into the challenges with the currentapproach to funding. In this survey we are not proposing changes to how we fund education for children and young people who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. But we are proposing changes to how we provide 'top up' funding to schools and colleges for children who do have SEND, but do not have an EHC plan.

The in-depth review has identified several problems and challenges with the current approach to using top-up funding. For example, it's very time consuming to administer the process and apply for funding, there is separation between the EHC Plan assessment process and decisions about funding the support they recommend, and there is limited scrutiny over whether the top-up funding is ultimately being used effectively within schools

It is fair to say that all stakeholders within the system we consulted are frustrated with the current process and keen to see it change.

Top-up funding represents 63 per cent of the overall high needs budget. It predominantly goes towards supporting pupils in primary and secondary mainstream schools and special schools, for both school-age children and those in Post-16 education. Of this 66 per cent is used to support pupils with EHC plans, who will have the highest levels of need. Though in Bristol, schools can also apply for top-up funding for pupils that do not have an EHC plan and have lower levels of need.

Proposed changes

A number of options have been developed for using high needs funding differently. We are seeking your feedback on these options. Their goal is to reduce the current high needs overspend over time and put the local system on a more sustainable financial footing, so that it can continue to provide high quality support to pupils with SEND into the future.

Some of our proposed changes might mean that some children and young people with SEND but no EHC plan who receive top up funding would no longer be eligible for funding when their current allocation of funding ends. Another possibility is that funding that is paid to an education setting for a specific child or young person would instead be paid to support children and young people with SEND at that school or college more generally.

The survey is not about how much the budget for children and young people with SEND should be. It’s about how we spend that budget. It is also about trying to ensure that the money spent on supporting children and young people with SEND is contained within the budget that has been allocated to them.

We are making these proposals because the budget to support SEND is limited, and in recent years it has been overspent. This consultation is not about how much the budget should be, but it is about using as much of the budget on education as possible, and reducing the time and money spent on administration, so benefiting children and young people, while reducing or eliminating the budget overspend. Due to the challenges identified with the current system, we are confident that there are opportunities to both make current spending go much further while also improving outcomes for pupils. Based on the feedback we receive, some, all or none of the options may be adopted.

The options we are consulting on are described in our consultation briefing which also gives more information about how funding for SEND currently work, the findings of a recent funding review including opportunities to improve, how this consultation will inform future decisions. It also explains Top-up funding and other key terms and concepts.

pdf Bristol Send Top Up Funding Consultation Briefing(164 KB)

Delivering best value for SEND in Bristol: Consultation briefing (Youtube)