Post 16 Funding NatSIP Working Day June 13 Brian Gale National Deaf Children’s Society Special Education Consortium

16-24 High Needs Before the reforms Four elements: SEN block grant (given to LAs for post 16 students with SEN in schools) Specialist placements (mainly independent) High needs students in FE colleges Additional Learning Support (ALS) allocated according to a complex formula

The law S 15ZA Education Act 1996: Duty on LAs to secure the provision for LLDD under 25 and subject to a learning difficulty assessment (LDA). The EFA passes funds to institutions and LAs in accordance with the commissioning decisions of LAs.

The law The Skills Funding Agency (Dept of BIS) has a duty to secure the reasonable facilities for education and training (particular qualifications) suitable to the requirements of young people who are over 19, other than those who are under 25 and subject to a LDA.

The law and LDAs ‘Subject to a LDA’ covers those with a LDA and those where arrangements for one to be conducted have been made or are required to be made. They are required to be made if the child has a statement of SEN. There is a power to undertake a LDA in wider circumstance

The new system: Low level needs funding For all students whose additional support needs cost less than £6,000: Post-16 providers will have Additional Learning Support funding for: ‘disadvantage’ and; ‘low level learning difficulties and disabilities EFA will set a minimum allocation for the single disadvantage fund for institutions at £6,000

16-19 funding formula This will be calculated and allocated according to: A deprivation based measure The numbers of students without C grades in English and/or Maths (£480 for one - £960 per student for two)

16-19 Funding Formula £100m of ‘Additional Learning Support’ funding has been removed and is being used to fund the core programme costs (element 1) for post-16 pupils.

High Needs – a recap

Objective “A place plus approach to high needs will ensure that all providers, mainstream and specialist, will be funded on an equivalent basis. This approach as been designed to be straightforward and transparent, so as to encourage flexibility and where appropriate, improve choice”

High Needs Block A commissioning budget for C&YP with High Level Needs – 0-24 years ie those who require provision costing more than about £10,000 Also specialist support services for low level and high level needs

High Needs Block 2 parts: Pre 16 16-24 years for high needs students (don’t have to have a statement or Learning Difficulty Assessment or EHC Plan – they have to have high needs)

Pre 16 High Needs LA allocation includes place based funding (ie £10k) for specialist places in maintained schools, academies but Place funding for specialist places in academies and NMSS comes direct from the EFA so the LAs allocation will be adjusted. Existing mainstream academies won’t start on the new system until Sept 13

HNB Post 16 : Allocation of money

16-24 High Needs New system introduced in August 2013 Pays the top up funding ( for all 16-24 high needs students placements commissioned by LAs in maintained schools, academies, NMSS, FE colleges and ISPs. But LAs pay full cost to any other provider and full cost of any student identified after 22/2/13

Post-16 High Needs Element 1: Core education funding according to the 16-19 funding formula (includes disadvantage) Element 2: Automatic allocation of £6,000 for every high needs pupil placed in an institution (Elements 1 and 2 are paid directly to providers by the EFA not maintained schools) Element 3: Top up funding provided by the local authority

Setting LA budgets Setting LA budgets in 2013-14 was a two stage process: Calculating amount spent on high needs students resident in each LA last year; and Allocating for next year at least same level of funding back to LAs and institutions for high needs students resident.

Stage one Combining: SEN Block grant Programme costs for 70% of statemented students in mainstream Total spend from LLDD placement budget (EFA) Total spend in FE on students with ALS costing between £5,500 and £19,000

Stage two Element 1 calculated using average costs for all high needs students by LA – allocated to providers and paid by EFA Element 2 = Standard national value of £6,000 per student – allocated to providers and paid by EFA Remaining funding allocated as Element 3 - Each LA should have at least £2,800 per HNS for element 3

The flow to providers EFA will allocate for every post-16 HNS: Element 1: the value according to the post-16 national funding formula (£4,877 per annum average) Element 2: £6,000 per annum of additional support

The flow to providers Elements 1 and 2 will flow to providers: Through the LA: for all maintained schools but the funding will not be included in the DSG allocation. Direct from the EFA: for all other institutions

Allocations to providers Each institution will receive element 1 and 2 from the EFA for every high needs students placed there. Allocations are based on numbers reported for the previous academic year.

16-24 High Needs is capped 2011/12 spend = £585m 2013/14 allocation = £693m 9% increase 124 LAs will see an increase No LA will experience a loss Increase to 2010/11 to 2013/13 capped at 24%

Issues Confusion over numbers and budgets Planning difficult for providers having to deal with lots of commissioners Demography and RPA Elements 1 and 2 is not the same as pre-16

Issues Will the disadvantage factor in element 1 be enough to support the high number of students with low levels of additional needs? Funding of specialist support services (should FE colleges continue to fund) Transitional protection for some but not others