Decision details

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) is responsible for ensuring sufficient local provision for children and young people with special educational needs. This includes ensuring there is suitable provision and sufficient numbers and types of specialist placements to meet local and regional needs in H&F.

This paper summarises the place commissioning intentions for the 2023/24 academic year at establishment level for maintained schools.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services:

1.    Approves the maintained schools place commissioning numbers for 2023/24 financial year at a total cost of £3,190,000.

2.    Delegates authority to the Director of Education to finalise Service Level Agreements with schools to give effect to point 1.

As detailed in the High Needs Funding Operational Guidance: 2022 to 2023: “High needs funding is provided to local authorities through the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Local authorities must spend that funding in line with the associated conditions of grant, and School and Early Years Finance Regulations.”

The high needs funding block provides local authorities with resources to support provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from their early years to age 25, enabling both local authorities and institutions to meet their statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014.

Local authorities determine how much to set aside in their high needs budget for place and top-up funding given to institutions and have flexibility to change funded place numbers.

Place funding should broadly reflect both local authorities’ recent commissioning activity and strategic planning to secure suitable special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision and AP, in line with their statutory responsibilities and regional requirements.

Local authorities are required to consult with institutions in their area and discuss both current numbers of places being taken up, which will be included on the school census and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision (ILR) returns, and the number of places required in future.

Please see report.