Somerset Council’s Executive has agreed a major package of one-off investment to strengthen support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The agreed funding will provide £5.331m over 2 years to:
- increase capacity across the SEND system,
- tackle backlogs in Education,
- Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs).
- improve the timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and
- provide more support for young people preparing for adulthood.
The funding will be released from the Council’s Business Risk Reserve in 3 stages, with progress monitored as additional temporary staff and specialist support are put in place.
The investment is designed to make a real and practical difference for families across Somerset by helping the Council respond to:
- rising demand,
- reduce delays, and
- improve statutory compliance in key areas of SEND support.
Demand for SEND services has increased significantly in recent years. The number of children and young people with EHCPs in Somerset stood at 6,578 at the end of May 2026, with EHCP numbers rising from 2.6% of pupils in school in 2019/20 to 5.4% in 2024/25 and currently is at 5.8% for 2025/26 (compared to 6% nationally).
At the same time, the Council is facing significant pressures in meeting statutory timescales.
The investment will fund additional:
- Education Psychologists,
- SEND support officers,
- business support,
- legal capacity, and
- temporary staffing across statutory SEND.
It will also support a restructure and temporary expansion of the service to reduce duplication, improve efficiency, and help teams keep pace with growing demand.
The funding will also increase capacity within the Preparation for Adulthood function in the Virtual School, with additional Learning Mentors supporting young people with SEND who are at risk of becoming, or who are already, not in education, employment or training.
The Executive agreed 3 linked proposals:
- £3.169m to clear the majority of the EHCNA backlog and improve EHCP timeliness.
- £1.743m to address capacity and structure within SEND services.
- £419,590 to expand Preparation for Adulthood support in the Virtual School.
The additional resources will be temporary and time-limited, allowing the Council to reduce current backlogs while assessing the impact of wider changes, including:
- the use of artificial intelligence to support EHCP drafting,
- a systems review of EHCP processes,
- changes in school rolls, and
- the Government’s national SEND reform programme.
Executive members agreed the funding at their meeting on Wednesday 1 July 2026.
