1. School Funding Reforms
Notional SEN: Elements 1, 2 and 3
Richard Shirley
Children’s Services Finance

2. Introduction
DSG funding reforms introduced the concept of ‘notional SEN’ in
This is the idea that within school budgets was an allocation for dealing with ‘expensive’ children, with higher needs than a child without SEN.
Introduction

3. Introduction
Manchester has always included and expected its schools to fund these children from within the delegated budget share; up to a maximum of £10,000.
This is because, although the Schools Block funding is allocated on an equal basis per pupil, the costs incurred by schools are not linear and there is an expectation that the less expensive children will contribute towards the more expensive children.
Introduction
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4. Changes
Under the funding reforms the idea of notional SEN continues in Manchester, but is refined. Now schools are expected to contribute up to the basic entitlement + £6,000 per SEN child from their budget share.
This is also know as element 1 (core education funding) and element 2 (additional support funding)
Anything above this threshold is called element 3 – ‘top up’ funding. Top up funding is also known as individually assigned resources (IAR) and is for statemented or resource agreement children
Changes
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5. Notional SEN per pupil Notional SEN per pupil
What is the notional SEN?
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6. Notional SEN per pupil
The expected maximum school contribution to each child is set out below.
Pupil age
Element 1: core education funding
(AWPU)
Element 2: additional support funding
Total school contribution per pupil (the ‘notional SEN’ to be found, per high needs child)
Primary
£3,101
£6,000
£9,101
KS3
£4,111
£10,111
KS4
£4,476
£10,476
Notional SEN per pupil
What is the notional SEN?
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7. School Budget Shares
Reception – Y11 pupils are funded based on the October census and are funded through the schools block
Nurseries are funded based on numbers returned on each termly census
School Budget Shares
How schools are funded
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8. School Budget Shares This is the AWPU – element 1 School Budget Shares
Where is my notional SEN?
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9. Element 3 comes through the High Needs Block - here
School Budget Shares
Element 2 is contained within this total budget share
Element 3 comes through the High Needs Block - here
School Budget Shares
Where is my notional SEN?
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10. School Budget Shares
Notional SEN is paid with the school budget share – 13 payments from April to March, all approximately 7% of the total annual allocation
High needs (IAR) budgets are set at the start of the financial year and adjusted quarterly based on actual pupil intake and statemented need
School Budget Shares
When do I get my notional SEN?
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11. Central High Needs Budgets
£61 million total High Needs Block
£41 million delegated to special schools, special academies, named pupils and in year adjustments
£12.5 million centrally retained, of which £6.6m is to pay for ‘out of authority’ SEN children
Others including SEN transport, support for inclusion, independent special schools fees
Central High Needs Budgets
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12. Challenges in Manchester’s DSG
Same pot of money as last year, but more children with statements and more expensive statements
Special schools have increased in size – no more money to fund this
Post-16 SEN funding has been based on data, Manchester’s population, costs and children with SEN has increased dramatically since then – estimated £2m+ shortfall in funding
Challenges in DSG
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13. Statements and Resource Agreements - Trends
Statements - Trends
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