Suffolk County Council to decide spending £18.6m in special needs care as demand balloons
An authority is due to decide on how to spend £18.6 million on special needs care as demand balloons.
The money forms the county council's unspent special educational needs and disability (SEND) capital program, of which £8 million is committed to delivering social, emotional, and mental health units.
On Tuesday, cabinet members will be asked to abandon these units due to a lack of interest from mainstream schools and, instead, reallocate the money to deal with ballooning demand.
Cllr Andrew Reid, the authority's lead for SEND, said: “We know the importance of making sure that children are in the right provision for their needs at the right time.
"We haven’t always got this right and keeping up with the ask for new places is challenging, and costly, but we continue to revisit our plans and redirect resources when needed."
If voted through by cabinet members, £3 million would be spent to refurbish existing spaces within mainstream schools and provide between 100 and 140 new specialist placements by the start of the academic year in September.
A further £12 million would be used to develop as many as six extensions or satellites of existing special schools within Suffolk, creating between 160 and 240 new placements.
This would mean schools such as Riverwalk, in Mayfield Road, Bury St Edmunds, could be expanded to accommodate 50 SEND pupils.
Cllr Reid said: “It’s reassuring to see the level of support we get from headteachers who are willing to open specialist units linked to their mainstream schools — we remain thankful for these offers.”
To round up the capital programme, the authority would earmark the remaining £3.6 million for further SEND provision.
The money reallocation, the council said, would deliver savings by ensuring more children and young people were educated in Suffolk and reduce the reliance on short-term and costly provision.
As it stands, unregulated bespoke alternative provision, places for those waiting specialist placements, is costing the council £13 million in the 2024/25 financial year alone.
Council papers stated the authority would continue to consider building an independent special school as a long-term project once more money was available.
