The council has been consistently overspending on special needs education. ‘Safety Valve’ is a Department for Education (DfE) programme for councils with very high overspends in their High Needs Block budget, which goes to support children with Special Educational Needs (SEND).

Previous attempts to bring down the deficit have failed. Over the coming months, WC will develop a transformation plan for submission to the DfE. Schools, parents and carers, health and care professionals, and the children themselves will be asked to help.

There’s more information on the programme on the WC website at: Special Measures .

Update – the formal submission to government goes in on January 12 and a report goes to cabinet on January 16. The report highlights that WC is very slow at assessing need, though with an ambition to clear the backlog within a couple of years.

   Leave a comment