William Eichler 25 March 2024

Bristol SEND services get £54m bailout

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Bristol are to receive a nearly £54m bailout, the Government has confirmed.

The Department for Education has announced that Bristol City Council has been included in its Safety Valve (SV) Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) management programme.

This will see the local authority will receive £53.79m over a period of seven years to address its historic DSG deficit.

Bristol’s current DSG deficit is over £53m. A council spokesperson warned that if it is not addressed then it will rise to over £133m by 2025-26.

The funding boost will be conditional on the council reforming its SEND support and services, including the co-production of a city-wide SEND Inclusion Strategy and improving the timeliness of education health and care (EHC) plans.

The council spokesperson also said the local authority will ‘work to co-design, with schools, a standard practice of excellence in supporting children and young people with SEND via local authority-commissioned SEND School Improvement Officers.’

#Education #Funding #Schools #disabilities #SEND

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