Responding to a new report from the Public Accounts Committee, highlighting the financial cliff edge many councils face when a mechanism allowing them to carry deficits for provision for children with special educational needs ends next March, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: 

"Ultimately, this is an issue we simply must resolve - not only for councils and their ability to plan budgets and provision, but for the sake of children with special educational needs and the schools and other services involved in supporting them.

“We called for local authorities’ high needs budget deficits to be written off in our evidence to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry. While such a reset would give councils a fresh start, without full-system reform and significant investment the same issues will only build up again.

“If as expected, the government chooses to move towards a system in which more pupils are educated in mainstream settings, these schools – which currently face a postcode lottery in accessing extra money from councils for children with the greatest needs - will need significant new funding in their core budgets.

"Crucially, as this report outlines, substantial investment is also needed in earlier support for children and families, which means additional resources for early years settings, and the health and social care support they rely on.

“We need a system in which support is driven by children’s needs, and the changes and investment needed to make that a reality cannot come soon enough for children, families, schools and councils.”