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Officials from Liverpool Council have spoken of their desire to do better for children across the city but parents have told of the difficulties they have come up against. This has been acknowledged by senior leaders, with Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council telling the specialist meeting last September: “It’s not only potentially tipping councils financially over the edge, more importantly it’s failing many vulnerable young people. “It’s something as a country we’ve all got to deal with.
” Now the government is to invest more tens of millions of pounds across the city region as part of a significant funding deal for SEND national. Speaking to the LDRS earlier this year, Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, said more needed to be done to support local authorities to improve outcomes in SEND amid continuing financial pressures. A total of £740m is to be used to deliver adaptations, expand specialist units in mainstream schools as well as create new places in special schools.
According to the Department for Education (DfE) fewer than one in 10 mainstream schools have SEN units or resourced provision – specialist facilities which provide more intensive support for pupils with SEND. As of October last year, more than 8,000 children and young people up to 25 in Liverpool were recorded as receiving an ECHP – a legal document which describes their special educational needs. This has more than doubled in the past three years when around 4,000 children were noted as requiring SEND support in February 2022.
Nationally, between 2010 to 2024, the number of children with EHCPs or their previous equivalent being educated in independent special schools increased from 7,000 to 26,000 – while the latest data released today shows an escalating gap of 8,000 places in state special schools. Mrs Phillipson said: “As part of our plan for change, we want every family to have access to a good local school for their child, breaking the link between children’s background and their opportunities in life. This investment is a big step towards delivering not only enough school places, but the right school places, supporting all children and particularly those with SEND, and plugging the significant gaps in provision we inherited.
“This investment will give children with SEND the support they need to thrive, marking the start of a turning point for families who have been fighting to improve their children’s outcomes.” Around a third of the money, more than £5m, will be spent in Liverpool. Cllr Liz Parsons, Liverpool Council cabinet member for children’s social services said: “We welcome the announcement that the government has allocated funding to support children and young people with SEND.
“Like many local authorities across the country, Liverpool has seen increased pressure on SEND budgets. The over £5.3m that we have been allocated will support the detailed plans we already have in place to increase the number of places to ensure that all children in Liverpool receive an excellent quality education in a setting that best meets their needs.
” More than £3.5m will be allocated to Sefton, with £2.8m given to Wirral.
Knowsley will receive £2.3m with a further £2m going to St Helens as £1.1m is spent in Halton.
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