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Councils face SEND funding shortfall

More than nine out of 10 councils in England have seen a shortfall in SEND funding, according to the National Education Union.

A report released this week said that the number of children in the special educational needs and disabilities category has risen by 33% since 2015.

However, funding for the budget reserved to fund additional provision has only increased by 6% over the same period.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “This is an appalling way to be addressing the education of some of our most vulnerable children and young people and is causing untold misery and worry for thousands of families.”

Last week, a High Court judgement rejected all 10 grounds of a challenge by a group of families to London Borough of Hackney’s policies on distributing SEND resources.

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Room151’s head of research Dan Bates reflects on the ‘generally positive’ business rates technical consultation and sets out what will be needed in the upcoming summer consultation on funding reform.

(Dan Bates)