Home   News   Article

Herts County Council and school heads reach ‘collective agreement’ on SEND funding




Hertfordshire county councillors will be asked to agree to an increased budget deficit to support SEND children after headteachers refused to slice £5.4m from their funds.

The education authority’s officials had drawn up plans for a £50m deficit to subsidise “high needs” funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As part of the plans, schools had been asked to contribute £5.4m – equivalent to 0.5% – from the more general schools budget.

Stock image
Stock image

However, earlier this month a meeting of the Hertfordshire Schools Forum voted against the move to transfer funds from the “schools block”.

Heads and council officials have now drawn up alternative plans which mean councillors will have to agree to extend the planned deficit from £50m to £52.1m. The revision will face further scrutiny as part of the council’s budget-setting process before it can be approved.

The council’s executive director of children’s services, Jo Fisher, has welcomed the “collective agreement”.

She said: “With one of the lowest ‘high needs’ funding settlements in the country and tightening budgets, we sadly once again are in the position where challenging proposals need to be agreed with our schools.

“And I’m pleased that by working together constructively we have been able to reach a collective agreement for additional investment into support for children with SEND in our schools.”

Alan Gray, chair of the Hertfordshire Schools Forum, said: “The county council is not alone in facing squeezed budgets and increased costs and that is why HSF provided a challenge to the initial budget proposals presented to us.

“While we did not feel we could accept the proposals as presented, we have worked with the council over the last week to come to an agreement that will see the financial pressure shared by schools and the county council.”

According to the draft 2025-26 budget plan, around £1.5 billion is set to be allocated to Hertfordshire schools next year, with £207m “high needs” funding earmarked for SEND children. Plans for the £50m deficit were drawn up amid fears that the allocated £207m would not be enough.

The £50m deficit – or £52.1m under the revised plan – would be funded by county council borrowing.

The council’s draft budget document suggests that the proposed deficit would lead to an accumulated schools deficit of around £80m, incurring interest costs of £2.585m by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

The deficit could increase to £384m by March 2029, which would incur interest costs of around £16m a year.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More