Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities have agreed to trial upfront SEND funding for mainstream schools.

Local authorities were invited to submit proposals to the department’s consultation, ‘Upfront funding for mainstream schools: creating a ‘local SEND inclusion formula’, by 30 September and we are carefully considering all responses. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/upfront-funding-for-mainstream-schools-creating-a-local-send-inclusion-formula. The department will publish a response in November.

Upon review of the submissions, the department may follow up with the local authorities in question to understand or refine each proposal.

The government will confirm which local authorities have been invited to participate in the ‘test and learn’ approach to providing whole-school, upfront funding to mainstream schools.