CITY of York Council must make reforms to its special needs and disabilities (SEND) support in exchange for £17 million to fill a budget black hole.

The Department for Education has reached a deal with the council as part of its ‘safety valve’ programme for authorities which have large deficits in their dedicated schools grant – the ring-fenced money that supports local authorities’ schools budgets.

In order to clear its deficit by 2026, the council has agreed to cut the cost of home to school transport for SEND pupils and to increase the number of pupils who are integrated into mainstream schools rather than receiving separate specialist provision.

The government’s SEND review, published this week, said mainstream schools need to become more inclusive and identify SEND needs earlier to improve support.

The ‘safety valve’ agreement aims to “hold the local authorities to account for delivery of reforms to their high needs systems, so that they can function sustainably and therefore in the best interests of the children and young people they serve”.

If conditions are not met, DfE said it “will not hesitate to withhold payments”. 

The council is one of nine to agree to a deal this year, including Kirklees and Rotherham, on top of five deals that were cut last year.

York has seen a rise in the number of requests for SEND support in recent years and the government has acknowledged there are significant pressures on high needs budgets across the country.

York Labour’s education spokesperson, Cllr Bob Webb, said: “This is effectively a special measures intervention by the government because it sees York, and some other councils, as having budget deficits in schools funding that have spiralled out of control.  

“What this means is that changes that may have been required over a longer period will have to be introduced much more quickly.”

 Cllr Webb said the council has “buried its head in the sand” over the deficit as it was “over £6 million as long as two years ago”.

He added: “At the local level our concern is that those changes will now just be forced through without adequate consideration of the impact on school pupils across the city.” 

Tony McArdle, chair of the SEND system leadership board, said the programme was not a ‘bail-out’ as it requires genuine reform and improvement to services.

The council has also agreed to ending education, health and care plans - drawn up to support pupils with specific special educational, social or emotional needs - when “appropriate and timely”.

A 2019 Ofsted inspection of the council and local NHS’s SEND provision found “significant weaknesses” in the service.

Cllr Ian Cuthbertson, executive member for children, young people and education, said: “The flexibility this provides, along with additional funding support due later in the recovery period, will enable us to address our current issues as we work towards a long term sustainable solution.

“It will also help us accelerate our SEND partnership work with children and young people, health partners, education providers and the parent carer forum to support both the outcomes of last year’s inclusion review and the key actions set out in our written statement of action.” 

He added: “This will ensure we can develop sufficient sustainable provision in York for children and young people with SEND and their families, now and in the future.”