The Schools White Paper sets out the Government’s long-term plan to reform the education system so that high standards and inclusion are better delivered. It responds to challenges facing the sector in key areas such as attainment, disadvantage, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and attendance. There are currently over 1.7m children who are receiving support.

Funding

The Government has announced a £4bn package over 3 years for improving services for children with SEND ahead of the upcoming school’s white paper.

By 2028-29, it is anticipated that there will be £7bn more funding for SEND support than in 2025-26. Over £200m of the proposed fund is going towards family hubs to fund a dedicated SEND outreach and support officer.

The Government has pledged that every Council working with integrated care boards (ICB’s) will commission local professionals in order to ensure that there will be “experts at hand” to make support routinely available. It is said that this will come at a cost of £1.8bn and will be accessible regardless of whether children are on an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The Government has also pledged over £3.7bn for the creation of over 60,000 school places for children with SEND. Of which 10,000 places have already been delivered. A new training programme to make sure that teachers know how to support every child in their classroom is set to be backed by £200m. Highlighting that the Government will not only depend on specialist staff.

A consultation regarding a new formula for the pupil premium grant is also set to take place this summer. At present, identifying disadvantaged children eligible for additional funding is done through those accessing free school meals. The Government are seeking to rebalance deprivation funding, exhibiting that free school meals does not reflect the different lengths and depths of disadvantage that a child may be experiencing. This is reportedly set to be replaced by income data for more accurate viewing.

Partnerships

The schools white paper sets out the Government’s ambition for more partnership working. It is proposed that ICB’s have more involvement in providing support for children with SEND.

The ICB’s and Councils will be dually responsible for improving access to Send specialists through the “experts at hand” concept. Specifically, this is set to involve commissioning speech and language therapists and educational psychologists. These bodies will also be responsible for developing a strategic plan for Send, alongside a group of local schools, through a partnership structure.

Alongside partnership working, the Department of Education plans to update the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission so that there is clarified statutory roles, and each body will be held to account independently for their roles.

Duty of Council’s

As part of these reforms, Council’s will be required to notify school’s when children are placed in temporary accommodation (TA).

Research from Shelter highlighted that over half of homeless children have missed school due to living in TA. With 37% having missed over 1 month. This figure is also rising, with an 8% rise last summer from the previous summer.

By making the Council responsible, the Government aims to improve transparency on the number of school days being lost for children living in TA. This will assist in then providing targeted support.

School Trusts

All schools will be made to join a school trust, which Council’s will have the power to create. Although, it is said that quality will be prioritised over pace and there currently is no deadline for schools to join.

The Government believe that a trust is an opportunity for schools to come together in new partnerships in order to bring innovation to the system.

In 2022, 29 Council’s expressed interest in a similar concept to set up multi-academy trusts. Although, this policy was never implemented.

Education, Health and Care Plans

The Government has pledged to retain all education, health and care plans (ECHP’s) until 2030 ahead of a transition to a more inclusive system. This system will introduce a requirement for children on ECHP’s to be assessed at transition points throughout their school career.

It has been assured that every child who has a special school place in 2029 will keep this if they wish ahead of the transition.

From 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for EHCP’s. These are legal documents that identify a pupil’s needs and set out their level of support. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring EHCP’s are followed.

Summary

In summary, the schools white paper sets out to improve outcomes for all children. It seeks to do this through mid to long term changes to the education system. Greater responsibility will be delegated to bodies such as the ICB and to Council’s to create a framework of support for children. This also sets out to ensure high standards and accountability where necessary.

How Capsticks can help

As trusted advisors to local government organisations, Capsticks’ purpose is to deliver results that matter. We appreciate the need to deliver efficiently and cost effectively and have an in-depth understanding of the legislative and governance framework in which local authorities operate.

If you have any queries about what is discussed in this insight and the impact on your organisation, please contact Tiffany Cloynes, Rebecca Gilbert or Megan Tam to find out more about how Capsticks can help.