About
All schools in Somerset get funding to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This funding helps schools put the right support in place so children can learn, take part and make progress.
Most support is funded directly through school budgets. Some children need extra funding from the council when their needs are higher or more complex.
Core school funding
Every mainstream school receives core funding for each pupil. this is an average of £3,902 for primary aged pupils and £4,935 for secondary aged pupils. This funding must be used to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
Schools are expected to use high-quality teaching, reasonable adjustments and targeted support as part of their everyday practice. This is called ordinarily available provision or a graduated response.
Notional SEN budget
As part of their core funding, mainstream schools have a notional special educational needs (SEN) budget. This is not a separate pot of money. It is an amount schools are expected to use to support pupils with SEND.
For each child or young person with SEND, schools are expected to fund support up to around £6,000 per year from their own budget. This covers support at SEN support level.
This funding may be used to provide support such as small group work, specialist programmes, extra adult support, equipment or changes to the learning environment. Schools are required to set out the SEN provision available and details of the staff, resources and strategy they use in a document called the school’s SEN Information Report.
Funding for children with an EHC plan
When a child or young person has an Education, Health and Care plan, the school will receive extra funding from Somerset Council. This is called top-up funding or ‘banding’.
Top-up funding is paid from the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant, which is funding provided by central government to Somerset. It is added to the funding the school already provides from its own budget. The amount is based on the needs set out in the EHC plan. A band is used to show how much support is needed. The band looks at how often support is needed and how specialised it must be. Each band has a set funding level which is paid to the school to deliver the provision written in the EHC plan.
Any top-up funding is given for a named child or young person and must be spent on that child or young person’s SEN provision as detailed in their plan. It transfers with the child or young person when they move to a different setting. Top-up funding helps schools meet needs that cost more than the level schools are expected to fund themselves.
Direct Payments
Where they have an EHC plan, the young people or parents may request a personal budget for some of the funding for this provision, where appropriate. To understand how much this funding is and what it is for, they can choose to work with the council and education setting to arrange provision or request a Direct Payment to arrange their own provision independently. For more information, see Education, Health and Care plans and choosing your support.
Costed plans
In some cases, there may be provision set out in an EHC plan which costs more than the banded top-up allocation. If this happens, the education setting can apply for the additional resource to be assessed, on the child’s behalf. Education settings should contact the Inclusion Advice Line.
This additional top-up, or ‘costed plan’ will ordinarily cover school-based staffing, alternative provision, or therapy costs.
A costed plan in a mainstream school is calculated as: [the full cost of provision] – ([Banding Top-up] + [Notional £6,000])
Provision other than mainstream
State-funded special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), SEN units and resource bases are funded in a different way.
They usually receive:
- a place-based amount for each agreed place
- additional top-up funding based on individual needs
This funding reflects the higher level of specialist support these settings provide.
Costed plans are not usually given to special schools or Pupil Referral Units because they already deliver a higher level of support. In rare cases, we may still produce one.
A costed plan in non-mainstream provision is worked out as: [the full cost of provision] – [Banding Top-up]
Independent Non-maintained Special Schools (INMS) are funded through direct contracts for each pupil.
Access improvements to school buildings
We allocate Education Accessibility Protocol (EAP) funding to help Somerset’s mainstream schools make reasonable adjustments. This funding supports capital works that improve access for local pupils with complex physical, medical or sensory needs.
Funding that does not depend on SEND
Some funding is separate from SEND funding but may still support children with additional needs. This includes:
- Universal Infant Free School Meals
- Pupil Premium
- Service Pupil Premium
- Pupil Premium for Children Looked After
- PE and sport premium for primary schools
- Funding linked to deprivation or prior attainment
Schools decide how to use this funding to support outcomes for their pupils. On their websites, schools must publish how they intend to spend the Pupil Premium funding each year.
Managing SEND funding
We co-produce our approach with schools, parent carers and partners to make sure high needs funding is used in a fair and transparent way. Find out more on our Somerset Schools Forum page.
We manage individual SEND funding through the Inclusion Funding Panel, where SEND officers submit evidence‑based requests that are reviewed by finance staff and senior leaders to make sure support is appropriate and offers good value, with final approval by the Service Director.
For more detail about how decisions are made and how partners work together, read our Planning support together page.